


Truths, Escaping Reality, Realizing Our Rights

by Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Food, Hospitals, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Injury, M/M, Manipulation, Nightmares, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, Sensory Overload, Sickness, Threats, Villain Deceit Sanders, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 07:04:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 45,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15576444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends/pseuds/Story_Teller_Of_Untold_Legends
Summary: Thunderclap, a cursed man with storms in his wake. Aves, a winged healer with a big heart. The Knight, a genius billionaire whose company is crumbling around him. Specter, a scientist who can see others for who they truly are.What do all these powerful individuals have in common? Absolutely nothing. Except for the fact that they all ended up being targeted by a shapeshifter with a catastrophic agenda.  Ancient evil has awakened, and danger lurks around every corner. Terror looms over Meteor City.These four unlikely heroes must join together to save Meteor City, and in turn, the world. But can they work past their differences, balance their feelings towards each other, and learn how to use their powers to do so?





	1. Gathering Storms

Virgil was snapped from his thoughts when Casey stormed into his bedroom. They had changed quite a bit from when their mother had died. Their hair was now quite short, styled in a half-shaved pixie cut. Also, they now tended to wear darker clothing, and on this particular day, they opted to wear ripped skinny jeans, studded combat boots, a black _My Chemical Romance_ t-shirt, and an olive green bomber jacket. Casey’s hands were on their hips, and their ginger hair was falling into their forest green eyes.

“Virgil, I swear if one of those assholes at school calls me an ‘it’ one more time, I’m going to lose it,” Casey fumed, flopping down next to Virgil on the bed. Virgil frowned and sat up.

“Do you want me to call the school again?” Virgil asked. Casey huffed out a laugh, eyes downcast.

“Right. Like Meteor City High School is gonna listen to a student’s cousin,” they scoffed. Virgil let out a sigh and put a hand on Casey’s knee.

“I guess you’re right. Tell ya what, let’s have a movie night tonight. We’ll even order pizza,” Virgil offered.

Casey’s eyes brightened.

“Really?” they asked timidly.

“Really. You can even pick the movie,” Virgil said.

Casey sat bolt upright, half a smile growing on their face.

“Can- can we watch Nightmare Before Christmas?” Casey asked.

Virgil gave them a slight smirk. When Virgil was sixteen and Casey was six, the two of them had bonded over the Tim Burton movie. His late Aunt Diana had just adopted Casey. They were so shy, but Virgil slowly coaxed them out of their shell, and they had barely stopped chattering since.

“What kind of surrogate parent would I be if we didn’t?” Virgil asked.

Casey shot up from the bed with a cheer, pumping a fist into the air.

“Heck yes!” they cried triumphantly, before running out of Virgil’s room.

Virgil watched them leave, a smile upon his lips.

Casey was eighteen now, and this was their last year of high school. They were a really bright kid, and Virgil was determined to give them the best chance he could. Even if it meant taking on another job, along with the two he already had.

Suddenly, thunder boomed outside. Virgil sighed. His stupid powers were acting up. Again. Virgil wasn’t totally sure of the extent of his powers, but he knew that the weather seemed to be tied to his emotions--or maybe it was just thunderstorms. Virgil wasn’t entirely sure.

Virgil’s thoughts drifted to the nickname his Aunt Diana had given to him as a child. Virgil had always been her “little Thunderclap”. Virgil had always assumed that he was given this nickname because when he was a kid, he was both fascinated and terrified by thunderstorms. Now he wondered if his aunt had known that he would end up with the powers he had. Virgil just wished he would have paid attention more to his Aunt Diana’s ramblings about the “Emory Family Curse”.

Casey poked their head into Virgil’s room, their laptop in hand.

“Hey Virge, what pizza do you want?” they asked, sitting down on the bed next to him. Lightning flashed outside, and Casey raised an eyebrow. “Are you worrying about things again?”

“No!”Virgil answered, a little too quickly. “What would I have to worry about?”

Rain began to pelt the roof of their shared apartment. Casey gave him a pointed glare.

“Okay, okay, fine. I’m just a little stressed. Nothing to worry about,” Virgil insisted.

Casey frowned.

“You know, I’ve been looking around for a job. So you can quit one of yours. But so far, no one seems too keen on hiring an agender kid,” Casey said quietly.

“Casey, you don’t have to do that. I just want you to be a normal kid,” Virgil replied.

Casey laughed bitterly.

“Normal? Yeah right. I had two moms, one of them died when I was seven, and the other one died when I was seventeen. I live with my cousin, who just happens to have superpowers because of a _curse_ , and to top it all off? I’m agender! Normal was never something I hoped for, Virgil,” they snapped.

The wind howled outside, and rain began to pour harder. Casey’s expression softened, and they looked down guiltily.

“Sorry, Virge. I didn’t mean to-”

Virgil cut them off with a wave of his hand.

“Not your fault. You have every right to be angry.”

Casey shrugged.

Virgil frowned, and then he did something that surprised both of them. He reached out and pulled Casey into a firm but comforting hug. Virgil was never one for physical contact, so to have him initiate something like this was quite a shock to them. Casey gave a small gasp and set their laptop to the side, wrapping their arms around Virgil tightly. Virgil pulled away after a moment or two, giving a small smile to Casey, who wiped at their eyes.

“Now, how does pepperoni pizza sound?” Virgil asked.

Casey nodded excitedly, grabbing their laptop to place the order.

“Thank goodness for online ordering. No social interaction necessary! What time do we want it to be delivered?” Casey asked.

“Uh, 6:30?” Virgil suggested.

“Works for me,” Casey replied, and with a few taps on their laptop, the pizza was ordered. They closed the laptop, standing up from Virgil’s bed.

“Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got Calculus homework to do… here’s hoping I don’t end up lighting my math book on fire,” Casey grumbled, and headed out of Virgil’s room.

Virgil laughed softly to himself, and the raging storm faded to a light drizzle.

* * *

A few hours later, Casey and Virgil were seated on the couch, empty pizza box sitting on the coffee table, while Nightmare Before Christmas played on the TV. Casey had changed into their Jack Skellington onesie, and they were hugging the Zero plushie that they’d had since they were a little kid. Virgil smiled in spite of himself. As much as Casey liked to insist they were “edgy”, they really were quite adorable.

“What are you staring at?” Casey asked suddenly.

Virgil jumped, and let out a nervous chuckle.

“Sorry Casey. Got distracted,” Virgil murmured, turning back to the movie.

“Were you doing that weird thing where parents get all emotional because their ‘little baby’ is all grown-up?”Casey asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Okay, first off, I’m your cousin. I see you as more of a little sibling anyway. Secondly, no. You’ve always been a super grown-up kid. I was just thinking about how adorable you look,” Virgil said with a slight smirk.

Casey threw a pillow at Virgil in retaliation.

“How dare you! People shudder in fear upon hearing my name!” Casey argued.

“Oh yes, the great and terrifying Casey Emory, who was just seen cuddling a Zero plushie. I’m quaking in my boots,” Virgil deadpanned.

Casey stuck out their tongue, and focused back on the movie, stubbornly hugging their plushie.

With a soft smile, Virgil watched the rest of the movie with his cousin.

* * *

Virgil woke up the next morning slightly groggy. He was beginning to regret staying up and watching Tim Burton movies with Casey.

After Nightmare Before Christmas ended, they watched Corpse Bride, then Frankenweenie. In hindsight, Virgil probably should have been more firm with Casey, since it was a school night, but he couldn’t resist that adorable pouty face that they gave him.

Virgil sighed and got up out of bed. He should probably check on Casey to make sure that they actually got up with their alarm.

After quickly throwing on the uniform for the cafe he worked at, Catpuccino, he walked down the hall to Casey’s room. He knocked on the door, which was plastered with posters, and waited for a reply. A few seconds later, the door was opened, revealing a very grumpy Casey with some very bad bed head.

“What,” they muttered.

“Just making sure you’re awake,” Virgil replied.

Casey glared at Virgil.

“Does it look like I’m awake to you?” they retorted.

Virgil let out a chuckle and shook his head.

“Not really. We definitely shouldn’t have stayed up so late. Now go on and get ready, so I can drop you off at school before I go to work,” Virgil said.

Casey sighed and closed her door. Virgil headed down the hall to the kitchen, grabbing an apple from the basket on the counter to eat while he waited for Casey. They came out moments later, wearing a black sweatshirt, jeans, and tennis shoes. Their hair was now combed, and they had their backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Alrighty, let’s go,” Casey said, starting to head for the door.

“Whoa, hold on a minute kid, at least grab something to eat on the way there,” Virgil said.

Casey rolled their eyes, grabbing a banana from the counter.

“Happy?” they asked.

“Very. Now let’s go,” Virgil said.

The two of them headed out the door, down the hall of their apartment complex, and outside to the parking lot. They got into the car, and Virgil drove Casey to Meteor City High School.


	2. Taking Flight

Patton Hartford lay awake at night, unable to sleep. It wasn’t as if he really wanted to sleep, though. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the face of his dead sister, Mavis. He had tried to save her. But he couldn’t. All because the stupid amulet decided to bond with him. Patton’s hand drifted towards his chest, where the amulet lay. He picked it up and brought it up to his face to look at it. When Patton had first set eyes on it, he had thought it was the most beautiful thing. It was a light blue gemstone, maybe about half the size of his fist. Golden wings sprouted from either side of the gem, and the amulet hung from a golden chain. He could hardly believe all of that trouble had stemmed from such a pretty little thing.

There were a lot of things Patton thought he knew about his family, and there were a lot of things he didn’t know. For instance, his mom had been a mystic before she died, and she had a magical amulet--the very amulet Patton now wore around his neck--that gave her powers. The amulet gave her wings, healing powers, and incredible strength. But even all of that wasn’t enough to stop her from dying. Her enemies just had more power. And when she died, Patton’s father was determined to keep the truth away from everyone. Including Patton and Mavis, his children. But then Mavis was taken. Patton remembered the day so clearly.

_Patton found himself waiting, the box that held the amulet in hand. It was one minute to midnight. Patton was trembling. He was terrified. He didn't really want to hand over such a powerful object to these people, but he also didn't want to lose Mavis._

_Without warning, a black car showed up, and three people got out. There were two armed men and Mavis, who was shaking, her eyes wide. One of the men had an iron grip on her arm, and her hands were cuffed in front of her._

_“Patton?” she asked, her voice watery and threatening to crack at any moment._

_“It’s okay, Mavis. I'm here, I've got what they want,” Patton said, holding out the box to the man in front of him._

_“Open it,” the man said gruffly._

_Patton did, and that's when everything went wrong._

_The amulet seemed to take on a mind of his own, leaping up to dangle around Patton's neck. Patton let out a cry of pain as a bubbling, burning sensation settled in between his shoulder blades. He fell to his knees as the pain grew, his hands scrabbling at his back, trying to make it stop. Patton let out a guttural scream as something burst from his back, tearing his shirt in the process. The pain seemed to have faded, but it wasn’t completely gone, and a throbbing ache had settled in between his shoulder blades._

_Patton reached up to adjust his glasses and gave a yelp of pain when his elbow bumped into something. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a massive white wing. He craned his neck around and saw that the wing was attached to him--and that there was another wing on his other side. He had wings--bright, blindingly white wings, with feathers and everything. How was this possible? He cautiously extended one and yelped in pain again. His newly sprouted limbs were incredibly sore. Patton was surprised he could move them at all._

_“What the hell?” the man said, shaking Patton out of his thoughts._

_Patton looked away from his wings, now noticing that Mavis and the two men were staring at him, mouths agape. The man in front of Patton stalked forward and reached out to grab the amulet. However, when the man touched the gemstone, he yelped and leapt backwards, cradling his hand to his chest as if it had been burned._

_“Damnit. The Aves Amulet has already bonded with him. Kill the girl,” he said, nodding his head towards the other man._

_“No!” Patton cried out, trying to lunge toward the man holding his sister. But his movements were clumsy and uncoordinated, because of his wings. The man pulled out his gun, and the shot echoed through the air._

Patton shot up in bed, breaths coming out in ragged gasps.

When had he fallen asleep? He put a hand to his head, and he heard a crashing sound. There was a slight twinge in his back muscles, and Patton realized that he had accidentally summoned his wings in his sleep. There were white feathers everywhere. His wings had knocked over the scattered objects usually occupying his bedside table when he jolted awake. Patton sighed and put a hand on the amulet, which was dimly glowing gold. He focused the magic power of the amulet and began to will the wings away. Thankfully, he had gotten better at this since they had first sprouted. The wings folded in, and they disappeared, leaving only the scars on Patton’s back from that first transformation. The amulet was no longer glowing, and Patton let his hand fall from it.

He yawned and blindly reached for his glasses, which thankfully hadn’t been knocked off of his table. He put them on and surveyed the mess in his room. Feathers were everywhere. A lamp, his alarm clock, and some small trinkets Patton liked to keep on display were now on the ground. Patton slowly climbed out of bed and put the lamp back in its place, then the little trinkets, and finally the alarm clock.

The clock read 4:16 am, and Patton groaned. He had a little less than two hours before he needed to be up and getting ready to go to work at Catpuccino.

He had opened it about three years ago, in memory of Mavis, about a month or two after she died. It was her dream, and Patton kept it alive for her.

After glancing around his room and yawning again, Patton decided he could deal with the mess of his feathers in the morning. Well, later in the morning. He crawled back into bed, pulling the covers over himself. He set his glasses on the bedside table once more and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A shrill beeping woke Patton up, and he gave out a sleepy groan, slamming the snooze button on his alarm clock. It was now 6:00 am, and Patton’s cat cafe opened in an hour. He sat up in bed, yawning, and stretched his arms over his head. There was a dull ache from in between his shoulder blades. His wings were just so desperate to be out, and the surprise transformation didn’t help either. But Patton didn’t want wings. He didn’t want any of the magic powers that came with them. He just wanted to be rid of them, but he couldn’t because the stupid amulet had bonded with him. Patton had tried to get rid of it so many times but to no avail. It always came back to him, and it always reminded him of how he failed his sister.

Some big brother he was.

Patton’s alarm beeped again, and he realized that  he had been sitting there, wallowing in his sorrows for ten minutes! He had to get to work so he could start setting up before the other employees got there!

He shut off his alarm, quickly scrambling out of bed to take a quick shower. Patton then quickly tugged on his work uniform-- a blue polo, khakis, and dress shoes. He grabbed the gray cat apron, putting it on as well. After grabbing his keys, phone, and wallet, he left his apartment and drove to Catpuccino.

He arrived there a little while later, unlocking the front door and flicking the lights on. He went to the back of the cafe, where the cat kennels were kept.

Catpuccino had ten cats in total: Pumpkin, Chloe, Mittens, Sir Meowington the Third, Lui, Dominoes, Kit Kat, Ava, Lily, and Shadow. Patton loved each of them dearly, despite his slight cat allergy. But Patton made sure to take allergy medication. Most of the cats were hypoallergenic anyhow.

When he walked into the kennel room, all of the cats meowed in greeting. Patton’s face broke out into a grin, and he began to unlock the kennels, greeting each of the cats in turn.

However, when he came to the last kennel--Shadow’s--he noticed the black cat was lying down, she didn’t even perk her head up when Patton opened the door. Frowning, he reached into the kennel and gave Shadow a tentative stroke. She barely responded to the touch. Patton’s frown grew. He scooped the small cat into his arms, Shadow immediately whimpering and writhing in Patton’s grasp. He gently set her down on the ground, but she just lay there. Patton felt the amulet pulse beneath his shirt as if trying to get his attention. Patton hadn’t really used his healing magic before, and wondered if it could help Shadow.

Patton took off his apron, then his shirt. He focused for a moment, before summoning his wings, the dull ache from between his shoulder blades finally relieved. The wings were so large that they brushed against either wall, but Patton didn’t care at this point. He knelt down beside Shadow, folding his wings in slightly, so as to not knock anything over. Patton hesitantly reached out to Shadow, before realizing he had no idea what he was doing. He glanced down at the Aves Amulet and was surprised when it gave off a golden light. He also heard a low hum. Patton then realized that the golden glow was coming off of him, not the amulet. He placed a hand on Shadow and focused the energy into the black cat. Slowly, she started to perk up.

A few moments later, Shadow was fully alert, and the golden glow from Patton faded. Exhaustion settled on Patton in waves, spots dancing in his vision. He gasped and reached out a hand to brace against one of the kennels. Dimly, he heard Shadow meow in confusion, but he was too focused on trying to blink away his blurred eyesight to really care. Finally, the dizzy spell dissipated, and Patton felt better. Still tired but better. He willed his wings away and tugged his shirt back on, then the apron. He stood up, a small smile forming on his face as he saw Shadow batting around one of Patton’s feathers.

“Well, you’re certainly feeling better! Go on and join your friends so I can clean up these feathers,” Patton said, gently urging Shadow out into the cafe. He then grabbed a broom and dustpan and swept up the feathers.   

Once he had disposed of his feathery mess, Patton began to ready the display cases that held the various sweets and bakery that Catpuccino sold. Patton felt something nudging against his leg, and he jumped, giving a small squeal. He looked down and saw that Lui, a blue-gray cat, was purring and gently headbutting Patton’s leg. He laughed and scooped Lui up into his arms.

“How did you get back here, buddy? Sorry, Lui, only humans can be behind the counter,” Patton said, walking over and setting Lui back into the cat area of the cafe. Patton had made sure that Catpuccino could be accessible for everyone, even if they had cat allergies. So there were specific parts of the cafe that were just for people, and others where the cats were allowed to roam free. But sometimes the mischievous little animals would find a way to “escape” and roam in the cat-free areas.

Once Lui was back with his friends, Patton went back behind the counter, and returned to his task of putting the bakery in the display case. A few minutes later, he heard the ringing of the bell at the door. Patton straightened up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He heard the cats meowing at whoever the newcomer was, probably one of his employees, as most people didn’t come to the cafe so early. His eyes then landed on the man who had just walked in.

It was Virgil Emory, one of his most trusted and longest-working employees. He was a rather skinny and lanky man, who looked more like a teenager than an adult. His dark brown hair was almost always in his eyes, and it was a little unkempt at times. Today, however, it was surprisingly neat. That being said, it still fell into his face, shielding his dark brown eyes. Patton smiled at Virgil and continued to ready the cafe for opening.


	3. In Shining Armor

Chevalier Laboratories. A world-renowned company, with significant scientific and technological advances. And now the future of the company rested in Roman’s hands, the hands of a wealthy and successful businessman’s son. Roman wasn’t sure if he was ready for this much responsibility so quickly. All he wanted to do was have fun, live the high life. But with the sudden death of his father, that was no longer a possibility.

“Mr. Chevalier, I am truly sorry for your loss. Your father was a great man, but we need to move forward with the company,” the woman sitting before him said, snapping Roman out of his thoughts.

He was currently in the middle of a meeting with the members of the executive board. Five sets of eyes looked at him, expecting an answer.

“I- erm- yes. Could you run me through the projects my father was working on?” Roman asked.

The executive board meeting dragged on, and a lot of information was thrown at Roman. He decided to continue all of the projects his father had started, and he would only introduce his own projects once his father’s had been finished. A way of “honoring him”, Roman had said. Honestly, Roman had no idea what he was doing. Why hadn’t he listened to his father more? He just wasn’t prepared for so much responsibility so fast.

Roman walked down the steps from the meeting room, passing various interns and other employees whose eyes went wide at the sight of Roman. He smiled gently at all those who passed by, getting mixed responses. Some would smile back, while others’ mouths would fall open, and one merely raised an eyebrow at him.

He later made it out to the front of the building, where his car--a shiny red sports car, one of the many gifts from his father over the years--was parked. Roman felt a pang of remorse at the memory of his father, but he shook it off, instead focusing on getting his keys out and getting into his car.

However, when he got in, he was greeted by the sound of a gun cocking and something pressing against the back of his skull.

“Roman Chevalier, it seems you’ve suddenly found yourself in charge of a very powerful company. I have some very brilliant ideas that I’d like to talk with you about,” someone said.

Roman resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sigh.

“I’m afraid you’re a little late. I just got out of my meeting,” Roman replied, sounding almost bored.

The barrel of the gun pressed into Roman’s head harder, and Roman did his best not to flinch.

“You seem to be forgetting the fact that I could blow your brains out any second,” he said gruffly.

Roman rolled his eyes.

“Yes, but what are you going to do if you kill me? You would have lost your only bargaining chip to try and control Chevalier Labs, and you’d have a murder on your conscience,” Roman said, subtly reaching for the panic button in his car, which would contact one of his bodyguards as well as the police.

The pressure of the gun at the back of his head eased slightly, and the mysterious attacker seemed to be in deep thought, from what Roman could tell from the reflection in the mirror. He took this chance to quickly press the panic button, hoping that the man wouldn’t notice. But then he was grabbed by his hair of his small ponytail and tugged back harshly. The gun shifted from digging into his skull to pressing against his shoulder. Roman let out a grunt of pain at the harsh tugging of his hair.

“So I won’t kill you. But I can sure as hell hurt you,” the man growled into his ear.

Just then, the backseat car door was thrown open, and the attacker jumped in surprise.

“Put the gun down and come out of the car,” a woman ordered.

Roman risked a glance behind him and saw that his bodyguard and childhood friend, Amari Zola, was standing at the door of the car, her own gun drawn and pointed at the attacker. Her rather frizzy dark brown hair was pulled into a bun, and her dark eyes glittered with determination.

Roman’s attacker gritted his teeth in frustration, and without warning maneuvered so that Roman was in front of him slightly, gun now digging into his side.

“Go ahead and try! Think you can nail a shot on me without hitting Mr. Chevalier, here?” the man taunted.

Amari rolled her eyes, shooting the attacker in the arm. He howled in pain, dropping the gun and releasing Roman, to instead clutch at his arm. Amari sighed and grabbed the man by the shirt collar, dragging him out of the car and practically shoving him towards the nearby police officers that had gathered.

“He better not have gotten blood in my car. And ugh! He messed up my hair!” Roman whined, pulling his hair out of its ponytail and running a hand through it.

“Honestly Roman, you are SUCH a drama queen. And you’re welcome, by the way,” Amari said, sliding into the backseat of the car and closing the door.

“Yes, thank you. How did that idiot even get in here?” Roman pondered as he pulled his golden brown hair back into a ponytail once more. Amari shrugged.

“Not sure. Police will question him though. What did he want from you?” she asked, brushing aside a stray strand of frizzy brown hair that had fallen onto her face.

“Was trying to tell me how to run my company,” Roman said dismissively, sighing contentedly when his hair was _just_ how he liked it.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked.

Roman stiffened, but then quickly shook it off.

“I’m fantastic, my dearest Amari!” he cried valiantly, winking at Amari. She rolled her eyes.

“Why do you always flirt with me, Roman, I thought you liked guys?” Amari asked, confused.

“Amari, I’m pansexual, which means I will flirt with anyone and everyone,” Roman replied coyly.

Amari gave an exasperated sigh.

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Anyway, I don’t believe for a second that you’re okay. You look really shaken,” she said, eyeing Roman curiously.

“I’m fine, really. Just a little overwhelmed, I guess. Now, what exactly are you still doing in my car?” he asked.

“If someone was waiting for you in your own car, there’s a good chance there’s gonna be someone waiting for you at your house. So I’m going with you,” Amari answered.

Roman groaned dramatically.

“Fine. At least you’re the one bodyguard I can stand,” Roman sighed, starting his car and driving off to his rather large and luxurious home.

* * *

Months had passed since that day and since the death of James Chevalier.

Chevalier Laboratories was making headlines, but not for good reason. Conspiracies and corruption seemed to be embedded deep in the company, and Roman, for the life of him, couldn’t figure out how it was all happening right beneath his nose. Underhanded deals were being made, dangerous people were somehow getting access to their technology, employees were disappearing mysteriously, and Roman was all but powerless to stop it. The press was on his doorstep basically every day demanding answers that Roman didn’t have.

A sudden knocking on the door to Roman’s private lab, in the basement of the Chevalier Laboratories tower, shook him out of his thoughts. He walked up to the door and saw Amari was standing outside of it, arms crossed, an unreadable expression on her face. She was wearing a gray pantsuit, with a blue blouse and black heels. Her hair wasn’t in its usual bun but was instead down, in all of its poofy and frizzy glory. Roman gave her a dazzling grin and stepped aside to let her in.

“Amari, my dear, come on in! Tell me, to what do I owe this unexpected surprise?” Roman said.

Amari didn’t reply.

He frowned, wondering what had gotten his usual feisty friend in such a mood.

“Amari? Is everything okay?” he asked, an eyebrow raised and voice wavering.

“Okay? Okay?! Roman, your father’s company- your company- is slowly going down the drain, and you’re asking me if I’m okay?!” she shouted.

Roman flinched in surprise.

“I just… you don’t even seem to care! And about ninety percent of the people who work for you are just horrible. They’re rude and very shifty,” she fumed.

Anger boiled beneath Roman’s skin.

“What?” Roman asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.

“Seriously? How the hell have you not noticed all of this shit going on right underneath your nose! Roman, something needs to be done!” Amari shouted.

Roman sat down on one of the chairs in his lab, taking his head into his hands.

“Amari, I truly wish I knew how this all is happening. But I assure you, I didn’t want this for my father’s- for my company. I just… I don’t know what to do,” Roman sighed, defeated. The two sat in silence for a moment.

“Well… there was one idea I had... But it seems a bit drastic,” he murmured.

Amari raised an eyebrow.

“Drastic may be our best shot, Roman,” she replied. Roman looked up, running his hands through his hair.

“Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Anyway, a few days ago I was looking through some old files of my father’s… and I came across something,” Roman explained, getting up from his chair and walking over to a monitor on the wall. He switched it on, tapping on various icons on the screen, opening a file labeled _knight_suit_prototype1._

Amari’s eyes widened when she saw what came on screen.

“Is- is that- what is that?” she asked.

Displayed on the screen was what looked like design specs for a robotic suit of some kind. It greatly resembled a medieval suit of armor, like in fairy tales. The suit was all white, with red gauntlets, red boots, and a red diagonal line across the chest that resembled a sash. The suit also had several gold accents, including a visor that glowed gold. There was a red shield, as well as a sword with a golden, glowing edge. The specs also displayed several weapons systems that were built into the suit, such as missiles, lasers, and electric pulse blasts. And if that wasn’t enough, there were rocket boots.

“I’m not sure what my father intended for this. But it was buried deep in his old files. Which means it’s unlikely that anyone knows of its existence,” Roman said.

Amari’s mouth opened, then fell closed again.

“Roman, what exactly are you suggesting?” she said finally.

“While this suit does have some fairly impressive weapons systems, it is not my intention to bring harm to anyone. What I am more interested in is the intense reconnaissance systems this suit has. If I can find out what’s causing the company to become so corrupt, then I can put a stop to it. If it comes to using the weapons in this suit, then so be it,” Roman explained firmly.

Amari was taken aback at the sudden fierceness in Roman’s tone.

“Roman… are you sure this is the best idea?” she asked.

He huffed out a laugh in response.

“Weren’t you the one who just said ‘drastic may be our best shot?’” Roman asked incredulously.

Amari sighed.

“I guess you’re right. I just… wasn’t expecting it to be this drastic,” Amari replied, laughing nervously.

“Well, whoever is behind making my company spiral into corruption is taking some very drastic measures to make sure that I don’t know what’s happening until the press is suddenly demanding answers. So I say we fight fire with fire,” he said, giving a dazzling grin and gesturing dramatically.

Amari gave a wry smile.

“Now there’s the Roman I know and love. So, how do we go about doing this?” she asked. Roman laughed good-naturedly, then walked over to a nearby table that was covered with a sheet. Odd, lumpy shapes could be seen beneath the sheet. And with a grand flourish, Roman whipped the sheet off of the table, revealing bits and pieces of the suit shown in the design specs.

“Well, Amari, I’ve already started,” Roman said, a bit sheepishly.

Amari rolled her eyes.

“Just earlier, you seemed so hesitant about this whole thing, only to reveal to me that you’ve already started on it?” she asked incredulously.

Roman shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I get bored, alright? I was honestly just messing around with it for fun. It didn’t occur to me until recently that this could actually help,” he said.

Amari let out a slight giggle at that.

“Oh, you rich boys, so clueless. What can I help you with? I’m no robotics expert, so that’s all you,” Amari said.

“Well, besides making sure no one comes snooping around down here, I can’t think of anything else. Perhaps being here for moral support would be enough,” Roman replied.

“You’re the boss, hoss. I’ll head out and get some coffee, something tells me we’re going to be pulling some all-nighters,” she said, walking out of Roman’s lab.

And with that, Roman got to work.


	4. Mind Games

Dr. Logan Irving was a man of science. Always had been, always will be. But with the things that had transpired recently… Logan was beginning to doubt what science really was anymore. All the things that had happened, and all the things that would continue to happen because of it… weren’t entirely explainable by science. Because people and their motivations were often unexplainable. And Logan hated it.

It had all started normally. Logan went to work at Chevalier Laboratories, rather early that morning. He had been working on quite the revolutionary device, and today was the day it was to be tested for the first time. It was a telepathic communicator which allowed people to talk to each other via their thoughts. Well, it was supposed to, in theory. His partner on the project, Dylan Lionel, was quite enthusiastic about it. However, it seemed to be for all the wrong reasons. While Logan only saw the good the device could do, such as making it easier for those who were mute to communicate, Dylan saw a rather malicious intent for it. He believed that the device could be turned into a weapon, making war that much easier, and that much more dangerous. Logan had no intentions of making the telepathic communicator a weapon and planned to report Dylan to his superior. But he never got the chance.

Logan arrived at the technology lab, Dylan already waiting for him. He gave Logan a smile, but there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes. Logan told himself he was being irrational and gave him a thin smile back.

“Good morning. Are we ready to begin testing?” Logan asked.

“I believe so. I’ve begun to look them over, to be sure there won’t be any… complications,” he said with a lilt to his voice. Logan raised an eyebrow at his partner’s odd behavior but didn’t say anything.

“Very vigilant of you,” Logan said, grabbing his clipboard and readying his notes. Dylan handed him one of the communicators, which Logan took with a murmur of thanks. He set the clipboard on the table, and then carefully affixed the small disk-like object to his temple. He glanced at Dylan, who had done the same. With a curt nod, Logan pressed the button on the disk, activating the device. His colleague activated his own communicator, a sly smile coming to his face. Logan opened his mouth to ask Dylan why he was smiling like that, but a searing pain suddenly shot through Logan’s skull. He let out a cry of pain, hands coming up to clutch at his head. It was like every sound, every thought had been amplified to a roaring scream. Logan looked up from his position on the floor-- _when had he fallen to his knees?_ \-- and saw that Dylan held a small remote in hand, cackling.

“What-” Logan gasped out, trying to pry the disk off of the side of his head. However, an electric shock suddenly traveled through him, causing his body to spasm and a scream to spill from his lips. His thoughts were too scrambled, he couldn’t focus on anything. Everything was too bright, too loud, too much.

“My apologies, Dr. Irving, but you know too much. And I don’t think you’ll be able to keep your mouth shut,” he said mockingly, stepping forward. Logan scrambled away, pushing himself up and leaning on the nearby table, which was scattered with various other technology that Chevalier Laboratories was developing. Dylan shook his head and pushed a button on the remote. The pain in Logan’s head doubled, but he grit his teeth and stood his ground. If he could get far enough away from Dylan and his device, the signal wouldn’t reach him, and the pain would stop. He needed to get away, far away, and quickly. Logan wasn’t sure how much more of this he could endure. His hand suddenly brushed up against something on the table, and Logan glanced down. He was touching a device called the Phaser, and it looked a bit like a wristwatch. The device was supposed to allow the wearer to phase through solid objects, although it was still in the prototype phase. But it was Logan’s best shot.

However, just as his hand closed around the Phaser, another shock hit him, and he fell forward with a strangled cry. He was now collapsed on the floor, but he still had the Phaser. Logan glared up at Dylan, whose face almost seemed… reptilian… for a moment. But then his face was back to its sadistic grin, and Logan shook off the strange hallucination as an effect of whatever the telepathic communication device was doing to him. Logan then put the Phaser on his right wrist, and before Dylan could stop him, he activated it. Then Logan was falling, falling, falling, falling… and then darkness.

* * *

Logan awoke sluggishly, sometime later. The dissonant and jumbled screaming in his head had stopped, but there were still voices. Incoherent murmurs, and one voice that was very clear to him. He couldn’t quite catch all the words the individual was saying… but their tone was full of concern.

Suddenly, a hand was placed on his arm, and a pair of blue eyes peered down at him. Logan gave a shout of surprise, and the man leaning over him suddenly shot backwards, slamming into the wall. He felt a flash of panic, pain, and anger surge through him… but what cause would he have for those emotions? Panic, maybe, but as far as Logan was aware, he hadn’t been injured too terribly. And he certainly wasn’t angry, more just confused.

“What the hell was that?” the man cried, but his mouth didn’t move when he said it. Logan sat up and glanced around the room. It appeared to be a lab of some sort, and he was currently lying on a table. No one else was in the room, just the man that had suddenly been thrown backwards by some unseen force. The man that Logan now recognized. It was Roman Chevalier, the very man he worked for.

“Mr. Chevalier? What is- ah!” Logan’s sentence broke off with a cry of pain. The incoherent murmurs got a bit louder and became more shill in tone. It then occurred to Logan that he must have still been wearing the telepathic communicator. That would explain the random emotions he felt, the fact that he heard Mr. Chevalier say something, but his mouth didn’t move, and why there were so many voices. But when he put a hand to his temple, the device was gone.

“I took that communicator off of you when you fell down here. It was causing you a lot of pain. Now, could you explain to me exactly what happened?” Mr. Chevalier piped up, walking over to Logan. And this time, when he spoke, Logan saw his mouth moving.

“I don’t understand. If you took that device off of me, then why am I still hearing other people’s thoughts? I don’t know what’s- augh!” Logan’s voice broke off again when a sudden pulse of cacophonous sound shot through Logan’s head. That’s when things became even stranger. Objects started to randomly levitate around him as if gravity had lessened on them. Mr. Chevalier stumbled backwards as the various objects started to swirl around Logan as if they were being carried by storm winds.

“How are you doing that?!” he cried out in surprise.

Logan blinked, in shock at the businessman’s accusations.

“Me?! How on earth could I be the cause of this?!” Logan snapped. The objects whirled around Logan faster, and sudden gusts of wind from seemingly nowhere whipped at Logan’s hair and clothes. Mr. Chevalier’s eyes grew wide with fear, and he stumbled backwards, tripping and landing flat on his back.

“What the hell are you?! You’re flying and your eyes are glowing blue!” he shouted.

Logan glanced down and gasped. He was, indeed, flying a few feet off of the ground.

But before he could ponder this, he heard the thoughts of someone approaching. A dark-skinned woman wearing a gray pantsuit walked in, and upon seeing Logan, she immediately drew her gun. Mr. Chevalier tried to tell her to stop, that Logan clearly couldn’t control what was happening, but it was too late. The gun went off, and pain suddenly blossomed in Logan’s left arm. A strangled cry escaped from his lips, as both himself and the objects dropped to the ground harshly. A jolt of pain flashed through Logan when he landed on his now injured arm, and he was vaguely aware he had screamed at the impact.

Hands were suddenly on him, shifting him so he was lying on his back. Someone began to put pressure on the wound, and Logan could tell someone was speaking, but couldn’t make out any of the words. Or perhaps no one was speaking, and it was merely their thoughts he was hearing. All he knew was that it was too much, that everything was too much. Then, once again, the world around him faded away.

* * *

Logan was getting real tired of this whole “passing out and waking up in a strange place” thing. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he did notice that his left arm was bandaged and that both his wrists and ankles had been bound to the table he was lying on. He tugged at the metal restraints, mild panic settling in his abdomen. There was the sound of footsteps approaching to his right, and Logan’s head whipped over and saw Mr. Chevalier walking towards him. Logan’s heart stuttered in his chest when he felt a dizzying array of his emotions coming off of the businessman. Logan couldn’t sort through any of them whatsoever, and the fact that Logan couldn’t read any of his thoughts-- not that he would really know how to-- definitely didn’t put Logan at ease.

“I apologize for the… erm… precautions. Amari insisted on restraining you. I also apologize for her shooting you. Now-” Mr. Chevalier started, but trailed off when he saw the pure terror in Logan’s eyes.

“Mr. Chevalier, I haven’t the slightest clue as to what’s going on. I swear I never meant to hurt anyone,” Logan blurted. Mr. Chevalier’s expression softened at Logan’s panicked tone.

“Please, there’s no need for such formality, you may simply call me Roman. Anyway, I never said that it was your intention to hurt me,” he said, his voice soothing and almost lyrical.

“You have a funny way of showing it,” Logan scoffed, glaring down at his restraints, then back up at Roman.

“As I said, my bodyguard, Amari, was paranoid,” Roman sighed, walking over and undoing the metal restraints around Logan’s wrists, then his ankles. Logan gingerly sat up, being careful not to jostle his injured arm.

“I would very much like to meet this ‘Amari’ you speak of. Preferably not at gunpoint,” Logan said, muttering the last statement. Roman let out a hearty laugh, and Logan felt a nearly overwhelming surge of joy leap at him.

“She really is quite the charmer, I assure you. Now, I know you said that you don’t know what’s going on, but could you explain what has happened up to this point?” Roman asked.

Logan took a deep breath and explained to Roman what had happened. He told him about Dylan Lionel and his odd behavior. Then he told Roman about how Dylan had manipulated the telepathic communicator, and how Logan used the Phaser to escape. He told him that he had no idea he’d end up here, his only intention was to get away from his co-worker.

Roman looked indifferent from the outside, but Logan could hear his doubting thoughts. He feared that there was something deeper going on, and Roman’s thoughts continued to spiral into ridiculous scenarios, each one more absurd than the actual truth. Logan huffed out an annoyed sigh.

“I assure you, I am telling the truth. There is no need to come up with such illogical possibilities of what may have happened,” Logan snapped, before thinking about what he was saying. Roman’s eyes flashed with surprise.

“You- you can hear my…” he stuttered.

“Your thoughts? Yes. I’m not sure why, but it’s as if I’m still wearing the telepathic communicator. And it appears I can do more than just read thoughts. I seem to have other telekinetic abilities, judging from what happened earlier,” Logan answered, gesturing at his injured arm. Roman laughed nervously, his mind now swirling with various ideas of how such a thing could be possible.

“I’m not gonna lie, I thought you were an-” he started, but was cut off by Logan speaking up.

“An alien? Yes, I’m aware. I can read thoughts for some odd reason, remember?” Logan interrupted. Roman laughed again.

“That is true. But who cares how it happened, or why it’s happening! I think it’s pretty fantastic! And… I do have an idea of what you could do with your newfound gift,” Roman offered. Logan raised an eyebrow. He tried to read Roman’s thoughts, but the businessman had opted to sing a dizzying amount of Disney songs in his head.

“Well, I can’t say that I’m not intrigued. Do go on,” Logan replied. Roman grinned, and Logan vaguely wondered if this was a mistake, but his burning curiosity was too strong to ignore. So, with a skeptical look on his face, he listened to Roman tell him his idea.


	5. Cat Cafes and Catastrophes

After dropping Casey off at Meteor City High School, Virgil drove to the Catpuccino cat cafe. He had worked there for about two years, and it was one of the best jobs Virgil could have ever hoped for. His coworkers were nice people, and the owner, although a bit… overly cheerful, was a very kind man.

Virgil walked into the cat cafe, the small bell at the door ringing when he opened it, and was greeted by Shadow, who was arguably one of Virgil’s favorite cats there. He knelt down and scratched behind her ear, before standing up and walking over to the ordering counter. Behind it, he saw his boss and owner of Catpuccino, Patton Hartford. He was wearing the Catpuccino work uniform, which was a blue polo, khakis, and a gray cat apron. He swept his light brown hair away from his face, and his hazel eyes immediately brightened when he saw Virgil.

“Virgil! How are ya this morning?” Patton asked while setting out various baked goods in the display case.

“Not too bad. You?” Virgil replied, walking around the counter to help Patton.

“I’m great! How’s your cousin, ah, Casey, was it? How are they doing?” Patton asked. Virgil smiled in spite of himself.

“They’re doing pretty well,” Virgil replied, going over and switching on the various machines they used to make the hot drinks they sold.

“You know, Virgil, if they’re looking for an after-school job, I’d be willing to give them a position here,” Patton offered. Virgil turned around to face Patton, almost not believing what he was hearing.

“Really?” Virgil asked.

“Well yeah! From what you’ve told me about Casey, they sound like a really responsible kid. I mean, I’d need to properly interview them first, but I think they’d be a great fit to the Catpuccino crew!” Patton replied. Virgil grinned, a rare occurrence for him.

“That… that would be so good for Casey. They’ve been looking around for a job for a while, and they haven’t had any luck. You would really do that for them?” Virgil asked. Patton smiled and nodded. If Virgil wasn’t so anxious about physical contact, he could have hugged Patton right then and there.

“Thank you so much, Patton. I can’t wait to tell them!” Virgil said.

“Of course, Virgil,” Patton replied warmly. Virgil smiled, and the two of them continued to set up the shop to open.

* * *

The morning was rather uneventful, with Virgil taking orders and Patton preparing drinks. It wasn’t until a rather… interesting man waltzed in that Virgil’s day got interesting. The man walked with an air of confidence, and as much as Virgil hated to admit it, he was quite handsome. He had golden brown hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail, and blazing blue eyes that made Virgil’s knees turn to water. The man was wearing a white suit, with a red dress shirt and black dress shoes. He walked up to the counter and gave Virgil a dazzling smile.

“Hello there, gorgeous! Could I get a skinny vanilla latte with 5 pumps of caramel, whip cream, and sprinkles, please?” he said. Virgil groaned internally. Not only did this guy have the most complicated order, he was a total flirt, too.

“Name?” Virgil asked, reaching for a cup. The man looked a little surprised and offended for a moment, but quickly regained his composure.

“Roman Chevalier,” he said smugly. Virgil nearly dropped the cup in shock. Roman Chevalier was the head of Chevalier Laboratories, a very successful company that developed all sorts of technology and had made several scientific discoveries in its time. However, after the passing of Roman's father, James Chevalier, the company had been surrounded by conspiracy and corruption.

Virgil kept his indifferent demeanor, and picked up a sharpie to scrawl out Roman's name onto the cup. However, instead of writing “Roman”, he wrote “Romano”. That'd show the pompous businessman. He then handed the cup off to Patton and told him the order. Patton, being Patton, gave him a sunny smile and told him “No problem!” Virgil turned back to the counter and was surprised to see Roman still standing there.

“There something you need? You're holding up the line,” Virgil grumbled.

“But there isn't a line?” Roman asked, glancing behind him. And much to Virgil’s dismay, he was right. All the customers at the cat cafe had been served already, and they were enjoying their drinks and bakery in the seating area, idly petting any cat that strolled up to them.

“I guess not,” Virgil shrugged. Shadow suddenly leapt up onto the counter, strolling over to Virgil and nudging her head against his hand. Virgil smiled and stroked the black cat, who purred at the touch.

“So I’ve told you my name, but I’d love to get to know yours,” Roman said with a smile. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“Doesn’t a big, important, businessman like you have something more important to do than flirt with a barista?” Virgil asked. Roman chuckled.

“I’m not very subtle, am I?” Roman replied.

“No,” Virgil said.

“Well, to answer your question, you simply caught my attention,” Roman said softly. Virgil suddenly stopped petting Shadow, who looked very miffed in response. Him? Catch the attention of a guy like this? Impossible. This had to be some trick, some ploy. Suddenly, a police officer walked up to the counter, an urgent look on her face.

“Does Virgil Emory work here?” she asked, standing next to Roman.

“I’m Virgil Emory. Is something wrong?” Virgil asked, shooing Shadow off of the counter.

“Acacia Emory lives with you, correct? You are her caretaker?” she asked. Virgil barely noticed the slip-up on Casey’s pronouns, all too focused on worrying about what happened and why the officer was asking him about Casey.

“Has something happened to Casey? Are they alright?” Virgil asked, hands beginning to tremble slightly.

“I’m afraid there was an incident at Meteor City High School. Chevalier Laboratories was there, presenting to some of the science classes at the school. Unfortunately, there was some sort of accident with the technology, and several students are now hospitalized. Acacia included,” she said, her tone grim and eyes filled with sympathy.

Virgil’s heart leapt into his throat. His hands gripped the edge of the counter, and his breathing was beginning to come out in ragged gasps. He tried to get his breathing under control, but his thoughts kept spiraling…

_“I’m so sorry, love. But you are the firstborn of your generation in the Emory family. And once I am gone, a great power will be given to you. But with this power, comes fear. I just wish I could have held on a little longer so that you don’t have to endure what I did,” she said sadly. Virgil frowned as he thought of his aunt’s past. She had been outcasted by those around her, the woman she loved died suddenly, and all she had left were Virgil and her adopted child, Acacia._

_“It’s okay, Aunt Diana. I’ll be okay,” Virgil said softly. Aunt Diana’s eyes watered, and she reached out a shaky hand to brush away the tears from Virgil’s dark brown eyes._

_“Oh, my sweet, brave, Virgil. Please take care of my darling Acacia for me. And- and tell them that… that I always found them valid,” she said. Virgil nodded, dark bangs falling into his eyes. His aunt brushed the dark brown locks out of his face and gave him a watery smile._

_“Yeah, I’ll take care of Casey. I promise,” Virgil croaked._

_“Thank you, my little Thunderclap,” she breathed, and with that, her eyes slipped shut, hand falling to the bed. The beeping machines hooked up to her emitted a long, monotone sound. Virgil sat there in shock, barely recognizing the fact that doctors and nurses were now pushing him out of the hospital room so they could try and save Aunt Diana. But Virgil felt an odd tingling sensation, almost like electricity, shoot up his spine as his aunt died. The power she had warned him about… it was true._

A hand on Virgil’s shoulder snapped him out of the memory. He whipped his head around and saw Patton standing beside him, concern residing in his eyes. The police officer was still standing in front of the counter, but Roman Chevalier had left. Anger started to boil within him, but he forced it down to instead focus on the matter at hand.

“Virgil, go to Casey. I can handle things here,” Patton insisted.

“Are you sure? What if-” Virgil started but was cut off by a firm but loving glare from Patton.

“I will be fine. Casey is your family, they need you,” Patton replied.

“Okay,” Virgil sighed. He walked around the counter, following the police officer out of Catpuccino, and got in his car to drive to the hospital.

* * *

Virgil’s heart was pounding as he followed the officer down the hallway of the hospital. It was all too familiar to when Casey’s mother, his Aunt Diana, had died. Virgil hadn’t put too much stock into the “Emory Family Curse” when his aunt talked about it, but maybe he should have.

_“Virgil, listen to me. I am dying, which means the curse will befall you,” his Aunt Diana said. Virgil let out a trembling sigh, fighting back tears as he held his dying aunt’s hand. Aunt Diana had practically raised Virgil, since his father had died years ago, and his mother wasn’t ever really around._

_“Aunt Diana-” Virgil started but was cut off with a firm glance from her._

_“A great power, a great fear; to each firstborn of a generation be given. The cursed will live a life most drear; from the cursed, all friends will be driven,” Aunt Diana recited. That was the supposed curse that had been placed on the Emory family years ago._

_“But… I don’t even understand what that means. Aunt Diana, this can’t be happening,” Virgil sputtered, tears now flowing free._

Virgil squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shake off the memories. What if he lost Casey, because of the curse? What if he failed to keep the promise to Aunt Diana, to keep Casey safe? What if-

The police officer suddenly stopped in front of a door, and Virgil barely halted his footsteps in time, nearly barreling into the officer. She gave him a sympathetic look and then opened the door.

“This is where she’s being taken care of. The doctors are confident that Acacia will be just fine,” she said, but Virgil wasn’t really listening. He walked into the room, and his heart plummeted at the sight.

Casey was lying in the hospital bed, dwarfed by all of the machinery around them. Virgil couldn’t even begin to name half of the stuff they were hooked up to. Casey had an IV in their left arm, and their other arm was in a sling. If Virgil didn’t know better, he could imagine that Casey was just asleep. But no, someone had hurt them, and that someone was Roman Chevalier.

“What happened?” Virgil asked, his voice practically a growl.

“It isn’t entirely clear. Chevalier Laboratories is refusing to comment,” the officer explained.

Virgil’s fists clenched, and he heard thunder rumble in the distance. It was that smug, arrogant bastard’s fault that Casey was hurt. His company had been careless, and he had just run off when the police officer showed up. And to think, Virgil had actually felt sort of _flattered_ by Chevalier’s flirting.

“The Meteor City Police Department is doing everything it can to figure out exactly what happened. It was a tragic accident, and I’m sorry your cousin got hurt,” she said, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Virgil’s shoulder. However, when she did so, a powerful zap of static electricity shot out, causing her to cry out in surprise. Virgil turned to look at the officer, who seemed confused and a little terrified.

“I- uh- thank you. I’d like to be alone with my cousin now if that’s alright,” Virgil said, voice low. He didn’t want to risk talking much louder, his voice tended to get distorted and echoey when he got nervous, thanks to his family’s curse, and the officer already seemed suspicious of him.

“Right, of course,” she replied, and walked out of the room, leaving Virgil alone with Casey.

Virgil ran his hands through his hair, and pulled a chair over, sitting down beside Casey’s side. He definitely would have to call his boss at his other job, which was at a small diner in the city, and tell him that he couldn’t come in. Hopefully, his boss would be understanding of Virgil’s situation. Virgil would most likely get docked pay, but Casey needed him.

As Virgil watched their sleeping form, his thoughts drifted back to the night Aunt Diana had died. Casey had been so terrified and angry. That night, Virgil had made a promise, both to his aunt and to himself, that he would protect Casey. But he had failed himself. He had failed his aunt.

There was a flash of lightning, followed by a loud and resounding boom of thunder. Virgil cursed under his breath. He couldn’t even control his damn powers! He desperately wished he had a useful power, all his did was cause fear.

“Maybe I could scare Chevalier into cleaning up his act,” Virgil scoffed under his breath.

As soon as Virgil uttered those words, an idea started to form in his mind. He had merely been joking, trying to distract himself, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. Roman Chevalier needed to pay, he needed to see how his actions hurt others. And Virgil was going to be the one to help him see that.


	6. Hope is the Thing With Feathers

Patton watched Virgil follow after the police officer, his hands twisting nervously in his apron. He didn’t know the full story with Virgil and Casey, but he knew that Casey was all the family Virgil had left. Patton hoped, that for both Casey and Virgil’s sake, that Casey would pull through. As tough and confident Virgil seemed to be, Patton wasn’t sure if he could take more heartbreak.

With a sigh, Patton went back to work. It would be a little tricky without Virgil, but the morning rush was dying down, and Patton was confident he could manage just fine. He soon finished the latte that Mr. Chevalier had ordered, only to discover that the man had disappeared! Patton sighed and placed the latte in a small fridge below the counter. It would be a waste to pour it out, but Patton wasn’t entirely sure what else he could do with it.

The morning seemed to drag on, and the intake of people seemed to be slowing down. There was still a few people milling about Catpuccino, but it was peaceful, unlike the usual hustle and bustle of the cat cafe. Patton was finishing up another order, humming absentmindedly to himself.

“Excuse me,” a voice suddenly called out. Patton whirled around, nearly dropping the half-done latte in shock. He saw a man in business clothes standing in front of the counter, his rather professional look ruined by the fact that his arm was in a sling. His gray eyes peered at Patton from behind a pair of glasses, and Patton felt like he was being analyzed. There was a strange look-- fondness, perhaps?-- in the man’s eyes. Patton wasn’t entirely sure why the man was looking at him so, but shrugged it off and gave him a warm smile.

“Hello there! Just one moment!” Patton said, finishing up making the latte and giving it to the waiting customer.

“I’m sorry about that, one of my employees had to leave unexpectedly, so I’ve been running things on my own. How can I help you?” Patton asked, wiping his hands off on his apron, and turning to the man waiting at the counter.

“It’s quite alright. I’m sorry to hear that you’re on your own at the moment. Anyway, I’d like your mint green tea, and perhaps one of those delightful pastries,” the man said, glancing at the display case.

“Sure thing! Name?” Patton asked, grabbing a cup and a black marker.

“Logan,” he replied.  Patton wrote Logan’s name on the cup and started to ready his tea. Logan stood at the counter, looking at the display case, clearly mulling over what pastry to choose.

“I would recommend-” Patton started, but Logan interrupted him.

“The lemon poppy seed muffins do look good,” he said. Patton blinked in surprise.

“Why, you took the words right out of my mouth! It’s like you can read minds,” Patton laughed. Logan stiffened for a moment, but Patton didn’t notice since he was too focused on his task of making Logan’s tea.

Patton soon finished, and he handed the tea over to Logan with a smile. Logan accepted it and looked down at his injured arm sheepishly. He let out a nervous laugh and set the tea down on the counter for a moment.

“I may have made a slight oversight on my part… I only have one usable arm,” Logan said, while clumsily retrieving his wallet from his pocket.

“Well, that's okay! I could take your muffin over to your table, or out to your car if you need to be going in a hurry,” Patton offered.

“That is… quite kind of you. I'm in no hurry, I think I shall stay here for a bit. I've never properly been in a cat cafe before,” Logan replied.

“Sounds good!” Patton exclaimed. Logan gave him a soft smile and proceeded to pay for his tea and the muffin. He took his tea over to an empty seating area near the counter.

Patton hummed under his breath as he carefully took out a lemon poppy seed muffin out from the display case, and walked over to where Logan was seated on a couch. One of the cats, Dominoes, had nuzzled up next to Logan, and he gazed down fondly at the black and white tabby while he sipped at his green tea.

“I see Dominoes has taken a liking to you!” Patton chirped. Logan looked up, seeming a bit startled. He must not have seen Patton walk over. His surprised expression melted into one of that emotion from earlier that Patton couldn’t quite place. Logan set his tea down on the coffee table and gave a soft smile to Patton.

“Thank you. You are quite possibly one of the kindest and warmest people I have ever come across,” Logan said, taking the muffin from Patton. Patton laughed and gave a sheepish smile.

“Aw, well I was just doing what anyone would have done!” Patton replied. Logan’s eyes clouded over with a darker emotion for a moment, but he blinked and then it was gone.

“Perhaps. But with you it is… refreshing,” Logan said, a slight twinkle in his eye.

“Glad I could be of service!” Patton exclaimed, giving a cheesy bow. That action earned him a slight chuckle from Logan.

“You are quite amusing, Mr- you know, I don’t believe I ever caught your name,” Logan pondered.

“Patton. Patton Hartford,” he answered.

“Well, it is quite lovely to meet you, Mr. Hartford,” Logan replied. Patton giggled a bit at Logan calling him “Mr. Hartford.”

“You can just call me Patton! Now, I’d love to stick around and chat, but Catpuccino can’t run itself!” Patton grinned, walking back to the counter.

“Was that a pun?” Logan asked.

“Hmm?” Patton hummed, looking over his shoulder at Logan.

“The name of your cat cafe,” Logan clarified.

“Well, of course!” Patton beamed. An incredulous and mildly annoyed expression came over Logan’s face. He quickly shrugged it off, and a mask of indifference replaced it.

“Ah. How wonderful,” he stated.

“I think you mean pun-derful!” Patton exclaimed, turning around and heading towards the counter before Logan could reply. If Patton had continued to watch Logan, he would have seen him roll his eyes and attempt to hide a grin by taking a sip of his tea.

* * *

The morning carried on without a hitch, although every now and again Patton got the feeling that someone was watching him. But when he glanced around every time he swore he felt a pair of eyes on him, no one was there. Sometimes he caught Logan glancing at him, but Logan's gaze was always soft and observant. Surely it couldn't be causing the odd chill he got down his spine, the strange anxious feeling that swelled in his stomach. Patton shrugged the feeling off and continued on with his day.

A little while later, Logan came up to the counter once more. He thanked Patton once again for his kindness, and with a sheepish smile, asked Patton if he could order a skinny vanilla latte with 5 pumps of caramel, whip cream, and sprinkles. Patton gave him a quizzical look, as that was exactly what Mr. Chevalier had ordered, but smiled and grabbed a cup to begin preparing the drink.

But before he could start, Logan asked if he could get the iced version of the drink. Patton beamed, and couldn’t believe his luck. The drink that had been made for Mr. Chevalier was still in the fridge below the counter, and it would be quite simple to turn it into an iced drink.

Soon, Patton gave the iced latte to Logan, and he left, but the strange sensation of being watched did not. Patton told himself he was just on edge from Virgil leaving so suddenly that morning. He hoped that everything was okay, and he was itching to check his phone, but he was too busy with the intake of customers coming in. It wasn't until his afternoon break that he got a chance to take a look at his phone.

Oddly enough, there were no messages from Virgil. A deep pit of worry settled in Patton’s stomach, and he wondered if the situation was far worse than the police officer had made it seem. What if Casey had died? What if Virgil was too distraught to even-

Patton’s phone rang, and it lit up with Virgil’s contact information. He quickly accepted the call, and put the phone to his ear, heading out the back door of Catpuccino. He walked out into the alley behind the cat cafe, and nearly sobbed in relief when he heard Virgil’s voice.

“Hey, Patton. I was waiting to talk to you until I knew you were on your break,” Virgil said, his voice flat and nearly devoid of emotion.

“Virgil! How are you? Is Casey okay?” Patton blurted, realizing a little too late that he should try to be delicate with Virgil.

“Uh… I’m okay. Casey is gonna be fine too. Their right arm is in a sling, and they’re getting fluids through an IV. The MCPD says that they don’t know exactly what happened, Chevalier Laboratories is refusing to comment,” Virgil explained, his tone growing dark at the mention of Chevalier Laboratories.

“Well, it’s good to hear that Casey is going to be okay. And I’m glad you’re doing alright as well. I would have been worrying myself sick if I didn’t have the distraction of running Catpuccino!” Patton said, relief flooding through him. Although he had never had the pleasure of meeting Casey Emory in person, Patton felt quite attached to the kiddo.

“How has Catpuccino been?” Virgil asked, and Patton could practically see him anxiously biting his lower lip.

“Just fine! There was this really nice guy here this morning, his name was Logan. Poor guy had his arm in a sling, and he kinda looked at me strangely, but not in a bad way! I think,” Patton rambled. Virgil was silent on the other end.

“What do you mean, he ‘looked at you strangely?’” Virgil asked.

“I dunno! It kinda felt like I was being analyzed, but in a warm way? I’m not sure if that makes any sense. But he was super nice, and a bit nerdy, I suppose. Dominoes seemed to take a liking to him,” Patton explained. He heard a strange sound come from his phone, and it took him a moment to realize that Virgil was laughing.

“Oh- pfft- oh my god, Patton! I think he was checking you out,” Virgil said, trying and failing to muffle his laughter.

“Wait, what?” Patton asked. He heard more giggles from Virgil through the phone.

“Did he flirt with you?” Virgil asked.

“I’m sorry, what? I don’t know!” Patton sputtered, becoming more and more confused. He didn’t really understand how the whole “flirting” thing worked, and now Virgil was wondering if Logan had flirted with him? Sure, Logan was nice, but was that flirting?

“How do you not know? Whatever, that’s not really important. Was he cute though?” Virgil asked. This made Patton freeze. Yet another thing that he couldn’t quite understand. Most of society seemed to have a pretty clear of what made people attractive, but Patton never really understood any of that. Not that it had really been a problem before.

“Uh… I think? I dunno, I don’t really think about people that way?” Patton trailed off.

“Patton, are you ace?” Virgil asked with dawning realization.

“Ace?” Patton asked.

“Short for asexual. Means you don’t feel sexual attraction,” Virgil explained. It was like a lightbulb had been turned on in Patton’s head.

“Wait, that’s a thing?!” he exclaimed. Patton heard Virgil’s soft laughter once more.

“Yes, it is. Now, as exciting as it is that you’re figuring yourself out, you should probably get back to work, and I should get back to watching over Casey,” Virgil said.

“Oh, right! Sorry Virge, tell Casey that I hope they feel better soon!” Patton chirped, a little sheepish.

“You’re fine. And I’ll tell them, once they wake up. Bye, Patton,” Virgil replied.

“Bye!” Patton replied, ending the call, and then walked back into Catpuccino, smiling softly to himself.

* * *

It was late, around 10:30 pm, when Patton finally returned home. Catpuccino had a lot of workers call in unexpectedly, saying that they couldn’t come in, and Patton, therefore, had to help cover many of the shifts. Because Patton just couldn’t say no to someone in need, could he? It wasn’t as if it was his employees’ fault, the accident at Meteor City High School had taken its toll on several inhabitants of the city.

He let out a sigh as he took off his apron and took his phone, keys, and wallet out of his pockets, setting down all of the items down on his kitchen table. Patton still had a slight ache in between his shoulder blades, and he knew his wings were just itching to be free. Frankly, Patton was too tired to even think about trying to summon them. What he really wanted was to go to sleep, but with his luck, he’d be haunted by the face of his dead sister.

Suddenly, Patton heard a creaking sound, coming from the hall. He froze, and his heart pounded against his chest. The amulet pulsed beneath his shirt, and his hands itched to touch it and release his wings. But what good would that do? Surely someone couldn’t be in Patton’s house, and his tired ears were playing tricks on him…

Another sound, this time closer. Patton’s hand flew to the amulet, touching it but not summoning his wings, not yet.

“H-hello?” Patton asked with a quavering voice. There was silence for a moment, but then a high-pitched ringing filled the air. Patton cried out, and his hands flew to his ears as he stumbled backwards. In a sudden, primal moment of panic, his wings were summoned, curling around him protectively, trying to block the sound from getting to Patton.

Something grabbed one of his wings, clutching a handful of feathers and tugging harshly. Patton yelped in pain, and the forceful tugging of his feathers causing him to pitch forward and fall to his knees. Patton tried to wrestle from the person’s grip, but the ringing was too intense for him to focus.

He looked up and gasped when he saw the man that was clutching his feathers so painfully and tightly. The man seemed normal on one half of his face, but on the other half? Scales. Had it been under different circumstances, Patton would have found the scales kind of cool. But the fact that this man had such a tight grip, and that one of his eyes was an unnatural and sickening yellow scattered all thoughts of “cool” from his mind.

“Now, I knew that wielding the Aves Amulet made one’s senses stronger, but it is so pathetic how you are brought down by a mere ringing,” the man scoffed.

“Who- who are you?! What do you want- please let me go!” Patton cried, trying to make himself heard over the piercing ringing sound. The scaly man shook his head, in an almost disappointed manner, then smiled maliciously.

“There’s a poem that states that ‘hope is the thing with feathers.’ And you, my dear Patton, are my only hope,” he replied. Patton wanted to cry. Here this man was talking of hope, yet there was only ill intent in his strange, different colored eyes.

“You know nothing of hope,” Patton spat before he could stop himself. His attacker’s face twisted into a grimace, and the last thing Patton remembered before blacking out was the man’s fist flying into his face.


	7. A Dark and Stormy Knight

A deep pit of shame and worry twisted in Roman’s gut as he quickly left Catpuccino. His heart went out to the poor barista, whose name he could never forget. Virgil Emory. A name that was both beautiful and mysterious, which fit the man very well. A man whose dark hair kept falling into his eyes, eyes that were a deep, dark brown, with flecks of gold swirling in them.

Roman’s heart clenched as he remembered the panic that flashed through those gorgeous eyes. Panic, that was caused indirectly by Roman. Roman hadn’t even been aware that his company was presenting to science classes at Meteor City High School. Now, a different emotion began to grow in Roman’s gut. Anger.

He stormed into executive board’s meeting room, his blue eyes blazing with a terrifying ferocity. Several of the board members jumped at his sudden entrance, some shrinking back at the look in his eyes.

“Why was I not informed about Chevalier Laboratories presenting at MCHS today?! And why did I discover this information through a police officer telling a barista that the teenager in his care was hurt because of it?!” Roman fumed, slamming his hands on the conference table.

“Mr. Chevalier, we are trying to determine the cause of the accident, to ensure that-” one of the board members began to explain, but Roman cut her off with a glare.

“Why. Wasn’t. I. Informed. Who was in charge of the presentation?” Roman demanded.

“Dylan Lionel, sir,” she answered. Roman’s blood ran cold. That was the name of the man who had tried to kill Dr. Logan Irving, just the other morning.

“He had said that you had given him permission to set up the presentation, the waver had your signature and everything. We thought you knew,” one of the other board members added.

“Where is Dylan Lionel now?” Roman asked. The board members exchanged nervous glances.

“We- ah- we don’t know. He disappeared after the accident,” the one who had spoken first replied. Roman’s fists clenched, and he took steadying breaths. He could not afford to panic now.

“Let me know as soon as you find him. I will be down in my lab,” Roman replied tersely, spinning on his heel and leaving the meeting room.

He headed down the stairs, and off to a secluded hallway. Roman walked over to a seemingly blank wall and pressed his hand to it. The section of the wall glowed a soft golden color, in the shape of a doorway. The wall split apart, revealing a secret elevator. Roman walked in, and the wall sealed behind him. The elevator took him down to the lowest level of the building, where his private lab was located.

When the doors opened, Roman was very surprised to see Logan standing there. Well, standing was the wrong term, and it was more that Roman was surprised by what Logan was doing, rather than the fact that he was in Roman’s lab.

Logan was levitating in the center of Roman’s lab, some of the tools Roman used gently twirling around him. While his left arm was in a sling, his other arm was outstretched, his palm facing up towards the ceiling. Logan had a calm expression on his face, his eyes glowing a vibrant blue.

He must have sensed Roman’s presence, because the moment he stepped into his lab, Logan gracefully landed on the floor, the tools returning to their proper places. The blue glow faded, his eyes returning to their usual gray. Logan gave a slight smirk at Roman’s awestruck expression, and from the way he was looking at him, Roman could tell he was reading his thoughts.

“I know you’re reading my mind, you’ve got that look on your face,” Roman muttered. Logan chuckled lightly.

“It’s not like I can totally control it yet. However, I am getting better at controlling my powers, as you just observed,” Logan replied, an air of arrogance surrounding him.

Roman huffed out an annoyed breath and sat down at his lab table dejectedly. Scattered pieces of his suit were laid out on the table, along with design specs. The suit was fairly close to being completed, but not close enough. Perhaps if Roman had worked harder, he could have prevented today’s events.

“Roman, what happened wasn’t your fault,” Logan said.

“It’s my company, why shouldn’t it be my fault,” Roman shot back.

“You cannot take the blame for something that was out of your control,” Logan replied calmly.

“But it shouldn’t be out of my control, that’s the problem!” Roman fumed. Logan sighed and adjusted his glasses, a nervous habit of his.

“Perhaps it is time I put my powers to some good use. After all, my powers have become much more manageable. You did request my help in this matter, after all,” Logan said. Roman frowned for a moment. He did ask for Logan’s help in restoring his company to its former glory, but he wasn’t totally sure what Logan could do to help.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what you could do at this present point. We don’t even know where Dylan is,” Roman sighed.

“I have to do something, Roman. If I stay here and wait around any longer, I’ll go insane! I despise feeling useless,” Logan exclaimed. Roman remained silent. He knew Logan only wanted to help, but at this point, he was just giving Roman more stress. It didn’t help that Logan was so goddamn arrogant about his powers. Meanwhile, Roman was sitting here powerless, with a half-finished suit and his own company crumbling around him. Why did his life have to be so…

“Well, I’m sorry, _your highness_ , that your life is so damn difficult. It’s not as if your whole world was flipped on its head in the span of one day! Your company has crumbled beneath your nose for months now, and only _now_ do you give a shit,” Logan spat, interrupting- no, _finishing_ Roman’s train of thought.

“Would you stop doing that!” Roman shouted.

“Maybe if your thoughts weren’t so loud, I wouldn’t be so apt to finish them!” Logan shot back.

“Then maybe you should just leave! Go get some air, coffee, I don’t know! Because heaven knows I can’t focus on building my suit while you’re here, reading my thoughts and finishing them for me every other minute!” Roman shouted, all the frustration that had been accumulating in him all morning finally bubbling out.

“Fine!” Logan snapped, grabbing his jacket off of a nearby chair and storming out of Roman’s lab.

Roman watched him leave, and although he was still pretty angry at Logan, part of him wanted to ask if he would get coffee for Roman, as he never got the latte he ordered that morning. But the rest of him was too stubborn to bother Logan about it. So instead, Roman turned to his lab table and began to work on his suit.

* * *

Roman lost track of time as he worked on his suit. It could have been hours, perhaps only minutes. But all the same, his work was interrupted by the sound of thunder, rumbling in the distance. Which was strange, considering that Roman was in the lowest level of the building, far below ground. He shouldn’t be able to hear a storm from there.

Looking up from his work, Roman glanced around his lab. He was very surprised to see an iced latte sitting near the edge of his lab table. It had the Catpuccino logo, a cat’s head poking out of a coffee mug, on the cup. Next to the iced latte was a note.

_My apologies for upsetting you earlier. You are quite engrossed in your work, so I will leave this here for you. I promise to return later tonight, but for now, I believe you need space._

_-Logan_

Roman smiled in spite of himself. Logan had done something kind for him, even though they were at odds. Roman felt bad that he was too focused on building his suit to even notice that Logan had stopped by. The man was like a specter, quiet and stoic.

Another boom of thunder, paired with the sudden flickering of the lights, shook Roman out of his thoughts. A strange, musty scent filled the air, like petrichor. Normally, Roman enjoyed the smell of rain, but it was unnerving that he was getting such a fragrance down in his lab.

“Chevalier,” a dissonant voice growled. Roman shot up from his chair at the lab table, and whirled around, spotting a hooded figure standing a few feet from him.

“What the- who are you?! How did you get here?!” Roman sputtered, backing up into the lab table. The figure chuckled.

“Your security is rather lackluster. Everything is electronic,” he said, pausing for a moment as electricity crackled over his hand, causing Roman’s hair to stand on end.

“And clearly, that is no issue for me,” the figure cackled.

“What do you want?” Roman asked, subtly reaching behind him for the suit’s red gauntlets. Luckily for him, they were the only part of the suit that was completely finished, and they were probably one of the most powerful aspects of the suit.

“Do you know how many people you’ve hurt? Meanwhile, you’re living the high life?” he snarled.

“Believe me, I never wanted to hurt anyone. Someone’s infiltrated and corrupted my company. Trust me, I’m trying to put a stop to it,” Roman said. His hand crept closer to the gauntlets. If Roman could get close enough, the gauntlets would fly to him. That is, if he built them correctly.

“By doing what, exactly? Sitting down here and tinkering?” the figure scoffed.

“Yeah… exactly that,” Roman smirked, and in one fluid movement, he reached out both hands towards the gauntlets, and they flew to him, fitting over his hands perfectly. He cautiously flexed his fingers, grinning when the gauntlets responded to his movements.

“Oh great, robotic gloves. Yeah, you’re really-” the man’s sentence was suddenly cut off when Roman, with a flick of his wrist, fired electric pulse blasts at the hooded figure.

The blasts threw the man back a few feet, and nearly toppled onto his back. But he retained his footing, and Roman could see eerie, electric purple eyes glaring at him from beneath the man’s hood. Roman gulped nervously. Those blasts should have taken him down, who-- no, _what_ \-- exactly was this dude?!

Electricity crackled over the man’s form, and in the blink of an eye, he lunged at Roman. Roman barely had time to sidestep the attack, but even so, he felt a slight tingling sensation shoot through him when the man brushed past. Roman tried to send more electric pulse blasts at his attacker, but he snarled and shot lightning to counteract the blasts. The force of the lightning and the blasts colliding sent both men sprawling away from each other. Roman landed flat on his back, the force knocking the wind out of him. Spots danced in his vision, and when they cleared, the man was looming over him, his hood off, revealing his face.

Roman must have hit his head in the fall because there was no way he was seeing what he thought he was seeing. He knew the strange lightning man. It was the cute and slightly snarky barista from Catpuccino.

“Virgil?” Roman gasped. Said man froze when Roman said his name.

“You… remember me?” he asked.

“Yes, how could I forget someone like you?” Roman breathed. Virgil scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“If you think your ‘Prince Charming’ act is gonna change the fact that you hurt people, you’re dead wrong,” he snapped.

“Please, Virgil, believe me when I say that I never intended for such things to happen. I have reason to believe that one of my employees has-” Roman started, trying to console him.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses. Casey could have died, and that’s on your head,” Virgil interrupted, his eyes blazing. Lightning danced along his form, and the lights of Roman’s lab flickered.

Roman’s breath caught in his throat. He was going to die. He was going to die to a barista who Roman was so irrevocably drawn to the moment he had walked into that cat cafe. In all of his daydreams about Virgil, none of them had included such a tragic end as this. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable blast of lightning.

“Step away from Mr. Chevalier,” a voice suddenly called out. Roman’s eyes snapped open, and a relieved grin spread across his face. Logan stood a few feet away from Roman and Virgil, Amari at his side with her gun raised.


	8. Wits and Warriors

Though he really didn’t want to go back to Roman’s lab, Logan knew he had to. Sure, the businessman was arrogant and a tad bit eccentric, but he had good intentions. Logan did feel slightly guilty about getting into such a heated argument with Roman, and he hoped that the iced latte he had dropped off for him cheered the businessman’s spirits. 

After stopping at his apartment and spending some time there, relieved to be in his own space for at least a little while, Logan decided it was time to go back to Chevalier Laboratories. However, when he returned, something was severely wrong. Dark storm clouds had gathered over the building, while the rest of Meteor City was bathed in sunshine. There was a certain tension radiating from the building, and Logan all but ran in.

It was near pitch black in the building, the only light coming from the red emergency lights, casting the halls with an eerie glow. Occasionally, the lights would flicker on, only to go out moments later. No one seemed to be around, but Logan could sense panicked thoughts all around him. Whatever happened, it had spooked everyone into hiding.

“Dr. Irving!” a voice called out. Logan whirled around and saw Roman’s bodyguard, Amari Zola. She had her gun in one hand, and Logan involuntarily winced, his right hand instinctively cradling his injured arm.

“Miss Zola. What happened here?” Logan asked.

“Someone broke in. A lot of weird stuff has been happening because of it,” Amari explained. The lights flickered on, then back out, as if to emphasise her point.

“Yes, I’ve noticed that,” Logan said dryly, thinking back to the storm clouds that only seemed to be gathered over Chevalier Laboratories. 

“It gets worse. Whoever broke in, they’re down in Roman’s lab. I tried getting down there, but the elevator’s out and it would be an awfully long drop,” Amari added.

“Not with me,” Logan replied fiercely, heading in the direction of the elevator to Roman’s lab, and Amari jogged after him.

Logan was shocked when he and Amari reached the once-secret elevator. It looked like the control panel next to the hidden doorway had been completely fried, and the doorway was wide open. Instead of being greeted by the sight of the elevator car, there was instead an empty elevator shaft behind the doorway. Logan peered in and saw that something had severed the cables, the elevator car discarded at the bottom of the shaft. 

“Are you certain that this was the cause of just one individual?” Logan queried, a bit doubtful of Amari’s claim.

“Trust me, Doc, this was one guy. I only got a glimpse of him, but the dude was freaky. He kinda looked like those pictures you see of Zeus, with lightning all around him and everything. Except for this guy definitely had more of a Hades aesthetic,” Amari replied, and Logan could tell she was a little miffed at the fact that he didn’t completely believe her. 

Logan sighed and focused his powers for a moment. Amari had told him in no uncertain terms that she didn’t want him reading her mind, but Logan had to be sure. He peered into Amari’s thoughts, searching for her memory of the individual. Logan had to stifle a gasp when he found the memory.

The individual appeared to be male, though it was hard to tell with their hood up, and the strange anomalies surrounding them. Lightning danced and crackled around their very being, and a pair of electric purple eyes peered out from beneath the hood. Fog curled around them, and had Logan not been a man of science and logic, he could have sworn that this individual was controlling it, as well as the lightning.

“You couldn’t just stay out of my head, could you?” Amari huffed. Logan blinked, instantly retracting from her thoughts.

“My apologies, Miss Zola. I had to be certain. Now, let’s get down to Roman,” Logan said, focusing his telekinesis to lift himself a few inches in the air. He held out a hand to Amari, who looked at it with uncertainty.

“Are you sure you won’t drop me? You haven’t exactly had these powers for very long…” she trailed off.

“I assure you, I have gotten stronger in my abilities,” Logan answered confidently, although part of him was slightly worried. Sure, he had practiced his powers, but this was the first time he was really putting them to use. 

Amari still looked reluctant, but she eventually took Logan’s hand. He swept her up into his arms, albeit a bit awkwardly due to his injured one, and she gave a very undignified squeak when he did so. Logan raised an eyebrow, and she scowled in return.

“You’re strong, I wasn’t expecting that, okay? You’re a nerdy science dude,” she huffed.

“I believe the term you’re looking for is ‘scientist,’” Logan smirked.

“Shut up and get us down to Roman’s lab,” Amari muttered. Logan chuckled but did as she said, gently levitating down to the bottom of the elevator shaft.

He touched down on the top of the elevator car, and Amari was quick to scramble out of his arms and start fiddling with the latch to the trapdoor on top of the car. She quickly got it open, and dropped down inside of the elevator car, Logan following after her. The elevator doors were closed, and Amari scowled in frustration.

“I’m betting that pushing the button won’t open the doors, now how are we supposed to get in?” she muttered.

“Hold on,” Logan replied. 

He closed his eyes and reached out with his telekinesis. He sensed the cold metal of the door, as if he were touching it with his own hands. Focusing all of his mental strength, he willed the doors to slide open. Logan heard the groaning of the metal doors slowly sliding open, and his eyes snapped open. The doors had opened a mere few inches. His mouth twisted into a determined grimace, and he pushed his thoughts harder. The doors shuddered, and Logan growled in annoyance. With one final shove of his thoughts, the doors snapped open.

Logan’s shoulders sagged as he released his telekinetic focus. He felt utterly exhausted, and his knees wobbled slightly. He brought his good hand up to massage his temple. He vaguely heard someone say his name, but it sounded far away. 

“Doc, you sure you’re alright?” Amari asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He blinked a few times, trying to clear the spots from his vision.

“I’m fine. Roman’s safety is the priority,” Logan said, standing tall and shaking off the weariness. Amari seemed unconvinced, but she followed Logan into the lab.

Immediately upon entering the lab, the hairs on the back of Logan’s neck rose up. The air seemed to crackle with electricity, and there was a strong smell of ozone. But it wasn’t just the electricity in the air that made Logan’s hair stand on end. A multitude of emotions and thoughts hit him, a confusing jumble of negative feelings.

Roman was sprawled on the ground, a few feet from where Amari and Logan stood. And above the businessman, was the individual that Logan had sighted in Amari’s memories. Lightning danced around their very being, and fog curled around their feet. The lights flickered on and off, and Logan could feel waves of fear coming off of Roman. He thought he was going to die. Logan’s brow furrowed in determination. Roman wasn’t going to die, not on his watch.

“Step away from Mr. Chevalier,” Logan commanded. The figure whirled around, and Logan was temporarily shocked by what he sensed from the lightning man’s thoughts. He was just as terrified as Roman was. 

Cautiously, Logan reached out and peered into the man’s thoughts. Logan was almost instantly overwhelmed with sorrow, anger, and panic. Memories flew at him like a whirlwind. A family curse. The death of a father. A mother all but abandoning her son. The death of an aunt, a surrogate mother. A young teen, hooked up to machines in a hospital. And at the center of it all? Virgil Emory, a man cursed with storms.

“Stand down, freak!” Amari shouted, snapping Logan out of Virgil’s thoughts and back to the present. Her gun was aimed at Virgil, whose electric purple eyes flickered.

“Miss Zola, wait,” Logan warned. She glared at him incredulously.

“Wait?! What do you mean, wait?! Doc, using your telekinesis has fried your brain,” she scoffed.

“Trust me, not everything is as it seems here,” Logan said.

“But-”

“I’m a telepath, remember? Let me talk to him,” Logan interrupted. Amari scowled, but she lowered her gun.

“Fine. But don’t complain to me when you’re fried to a crisp,” she replied bitterly, but Logan could sense her concern for him. Logan nodded in thanks and turned his attention to Virgil, who was watching him with a cautious but curious eye.

“Please, do not be alarmed. I’m not going to hurt you. You’ve had to suffer countless tragedies, let me help you,” Logan offered.

“You know nothing about me,” Virgil snarled, his voice echoey and dissonant.

“I know more than you would think. My name is Dr. Logan Irving, and I too, have gone through a fair amount of trouble because of Chevalier Laboratories. But Mr. Chevalier is not to blame for this,” Logan explained.

“Right. It’s not like the company has his name or anything. How would he not be to blame?” Virgil snarked.

“Dylan Lionel. He’s managed to manipulate and corrupt the company from the inside. He’s the one who arranged the ‘accident’ at Meteor City High School. He’s also the one who nearly killed me the other morning. We don’t know how he’s managed to do this without Mr. Chevalier knowing, but I assure you, Roman Chevalier is innocent,” Logan reasoned. Virgil considered Logan’s words, but doubt swirled in his mind.

“How do I know I can trust you?” he asked, his voice beginning to sound normal.

“Because I’m like you. At least, somewhat. We both are… gifted,” Logan replied. He then used his telekinesis to lift himself up in the air, and levitate a few scattered objects around him.

A flash of panic shot through Virgil’s thoughts, and Logan realized too late that revealing his powers was a mistake. Virgil acted on impulse, his only thought being self-preservation. Lightning flew from his fingertips, hitting Logan square in the chest and causing the telepath to fly backwards, crashing to the ground.

Pain flared through his whole body, muscles spasming with aftershocks. But despite this, Logan was back on his feet in an instant, eyes glowing a dangerously serene blue. He too seemed to be acting on impulse. Logan shot a mental attack, something he wasn’t even aware he could do, at Virgil. Virgil screamed in pain, hands flying to clutch at his head. The man fell to his knees, and Logan’s heart clenched at the distress coming off of Virgil. 

“No- I didn’t- I… ” Logan stammered, and he watched in horror as the violet light in Virgil’s eyes faded back to brown before they slipped shut. Virgil pitched forward, collapsing to the ground with a thud.

“Whatever happened to ‘let me talk to him?’” Amari asked. Logan ignored her in favor of rushing to Virgil’s side. He took his slender wrist in hand, and he sighed in relief when he felt a steady pulse thrumming against his fingertips.

“What did you do to him?” Roman asked in a hushed tone. Logan glanced over and saw that Roman had come over beside Virgil as well.

“I- I’m not sure. It was rather involuntary, almost on instinct,” Logan replied guiltily.

“It’s not your fault, Specs. You did give him quite the scare,” Roman said, his voice turning forlorn. Logan read Roman’s thoughts for a quick moment and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Roman had begun to wax poetic about his “poor, misunderstood stormcloud” and how he “desperately wanted to be his knight.”

“Roman, he tried to kill you and now you want to protect him with every fiber of your being?” Logan scoffed.

“He was just trying to protect his kid! People get desperate when they’ve been through a tragedy, Logan,” Roman protested.

“Technically they’re his cousin, not his child. Anyway, I suppose you do have a point. He has been through… several tragedies,” Logan replied softly. Roman gave him a quizzical look.

“Wait, several?” he asked.

“It is not my place to share, but yes,” Logan answered. A melancholy expression took over Roman’s face, and Logan didn’t need to be a mind reader to know that his heart ached for Virgil.

After a moment or two, Roman gently scooped Virgil up into his arms. He carried him over to the table that Logan had woke up on yesterday and gently laid Virgil down. Roman tenderly brushed a stray strand of hair out of Virgil’s eyes. Logan could see Amari making a gagging motion in his peripheral vision, and he tried his hardest not to laugh.

“We need to find Dylan Lionel and stop him, before he hurts anyone else,” Roman said, determination set in his features.

“Yes, or at this rate, all of Meteor City will fall,” Logan agreed. 


	9. Downpour

Consciousness came back to Virgil slowly. He heard the soft humming of machinery first. Then the sound of steady, even breathing. Someone was asleep next to him. What happened? The last thing Virgil remembered was going to the hospital and seeing Casey, banged up pretty badly and hooked up to machines.

His eyes opened, and he fully expected to see a hospital room. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of a laboratory of some sort. Virgil was confused for a moment, but then the memories came flying back. Breaking into Chevalier Laboratories. Storming (quite literally) into Roman Chevalier’s lab. The fight with Mr. Chevalier. The levitating man with glowing blue eyes.

Virgil shot up with a gasp, frantically glancing around. He needed to get out, now. Who knows what they had planned for him. Furthermore, he couldn’t abandon Casey. What if they woke up, only to find that they were alone? Virgil cursed his earlier reckless actions. If he hadn’t been so angry, he wouldn’t be trapped in Chevalier’s lab.

“You’re awake,” a relieved voice said. Virgil jumped, and his head whipped to the side. Roman Chevalier was sitting beside the table, and Virgil was quite shocked to see the state he was in. 

Frankly, the businessman looked like a hot mess. His usual neat hair wasn’t completely pulled back in its ponytail, a few strands of golden brown hair falling into his eyes. Dark circles were under his eyes, and his eyes weren’t their usual sparkling blue. Virgil had never seen Mr. Chevalier wear anything but a suit, so to see him in a red hoodie and jeans was quite a shock. And, strangely enough, rather alluring.

Virgil shook his head, dismissing the thought. He didn’t have time to be fawning over this idiot. He needed to get out, and fast. Casey needed him. The air began to crackle with electricity, and the businessman’s eyes widened.

“Wait! You’re safe, we’re not going to hurt you, we only want to help!” he exclaimed, putting his hands up in a placating manner. Virgil said nothing but raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“He’s telling the truth. I apologize for acting rashly earlier,” a voice piped up. Virgil’s eyes shot up and away from Roman, and his heart began to thud against his chest when he saw the source of the voice. It was the levitating man, Dr. Logan Irving. Both of his feet were on the ground, but that didn’t make Virgil any less wary of the man. 

“Right. Like I’m gonna trust someone who can levitate and mess with my head,” Virgil scoffed. A flash of hurt passed over the doctor’s face, and he hung his head in shame.

“I never meant for that to happen. I still am learning how to control my… ability. It was unwise of me to reveal my powers, it made you panic and your reaction was perfectly natural. My actions afterward were completely involuntary. I understand if you don’t want to trust me, but we do have a common enemy,” he explained. Virgil blinked in surprise. He hadn’t expected this. Dr. Irving seemed so sincere, so genuine. It had been some time since Virgil had come across someone like that. Well, besides Patton.

“You know Patton?” Dr. Irving asked, his head shooting up. There was a soft look in his gray eyes, and Virgil would have found it sweet if he wasn’t so utterly creeped out. Virgil had never said Patton’s name out loud.

“How the hell did you do that?” Virgil demanded. He seemed confused for a moment, then his eyes widened and a guilty expression came over his face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to read your mind. Like I said, I haven’t really gained control over my telepathy yet,” the doctor replied sheepishly. Virgil nodded but didn’t say anything. He was too busy mulling over how this guy knew Patton.

Suddenly, it clicked. The man that Patton had told him about on the phone. Patton’s description of the man matched Dr. Irving perfectly. One arm in a sling, kind of nerdy, and his name was Logan. Virgil let out an amused chuckle, despite the circumstances.

“Wait, you’re the guy that checked out Patton!” Virgil said with a laugh. Logan’s face flushed bright red, and Mr. Chevalier’s gaze whipped over to the blushing doctor.

“You saw a cute guy, and didn’t tell me?!” he gasped, placing a hand over his heart dramatically.

“I- um- how did you… it wasn’t!” Logan stammered, apparently unable to form full sentences.

“Patton’s my boss, but also a good friend. He told me about it,” Virgil shrugged. 

“I don’t believe it! Dr. Logan ‘serious scientist dude’ Irving has a crush! Tell. Me. Everything!” Mr. Chevalier exclaimed.

“It is hardly a crush! I merely went to his cat cafe and enjoyed some conversation with him! The fact that he is adorable beyond belief and is possibly the kindest soul I have ever met has nothing to do with it!” Logan snapped. His face flushed darker as he realized what he had just said out loud. 

“Aww! You like him!” the businessman squealed.

“We have more important things to worry about,” Logan huffed.

“You aren’t denying it,” he replied, voice lilting. Logan glared at Mr. Chevalier, while the other man merely gave him a smug smirk in response.

“This is great and all, but can I leave, Mr. Chevalier? I need to see if Casey’s awake yet, and Patton’s probably worried sick… how long have I been down here?” Virgil asked. The two other men exchanged nervous glances, which Virgil didn’t like in the slightest.

“You may simply call me Roman. And um… Logan, why don’t you tell him?” Roman replied nervously. Logan sighed and rolled his eyes, but then regarded Virgil with a serious and grave expression.

“You’ve been unconscious for a day,” Logan said, rather bluntly. Virgil shot to his feet in an instant. He dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out his phone to see that Logan was telling the truth. But something wasn’t right. He didn’t have any messages on his phone. He would have expected a phone call from the hospital, or maybe from his other boss. But what made him the most concerned was the fact that there was absolutely nothing from Patton.

“Something’s wrong,” Virgil said numbly.

“I’ll admit, you’re taking this reasonably well,” Logan commented.

“Patton hasn’t tried calling or messaging me,” Virgil replied, his heart racing. Damn his family curse, he never should have let Patton get so close to him.

“Virgil, a ‘curse’ couldn’t have-”

“Stay the fuck out of my head,” Virgil snapped. He didn’t need a mind-reader peering into his stupid, panicked, anxious thoughts on top of all of this. 

Virgil quickly opened his contact info and hit the call button next to Patton’s name. He put the phone up to his ear and waited. It rang, and rang, but there was nothing. Until suddenly, it stopped.

“Patton, thank goodness, I’m-”

“Hello there. You must be Virgil, judging by the information on this phone,” a voice interrupted.

“What the- who the hell is this?!” Virgil snarled.

“Oh, such a temper. The name is Dylan Lionel,” the voice replied smoothly. Virgil’s blood ran cold. That was the name of the man who supposedly was behind all of the corruption at Chevalier Labs. He quickly put his phone on speakerphone, looking at Logan and hoping that he had ignored Virgil’s warning to stay out of his head.

_ “Roman, the man on the phone is Dylan Lionel. Virgil, keep him talking as long as you can.”  _ Logan’s voice said in his head. Virgil blinked in surprise, but nodded.

_ “I’ll get to work on tracing the call.”  _ Roman thought, and Virgil gave him a confused glance. How could he hear Roman’s thoughts?

_ “I set up a temporary mental link between us. Now quickly, keep talking to Dylan.”  _ Logan thought.

“Who are you, where is Patton?” Virgil asked, trying to keep his hands from shaking.

“Who I am isn’t important. Now as for Patton… he’s perfectly fine,” he chuckled. Virgil bit back a growl.

“You’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you,” Virgil said evenly. Laughter, bitter and harsh, came from the phone.

_ “Virgil, let me plug into your phone.”  _ Roman thought, approaching him with some sort of hand-held screen with a cord attached to it. Virgil silently held out the phone to Roman, who plugged in and began tapping at his screen.

“Now, I want you to listen to me very carefully, Virgil. I need you to get a message to someone,” Dylan said.

“Oh? And what if I don’t feel like being your errand boy?” Virgil snarled.

“Such attitude. I suppose you don’t ever want to see Patton again, do you?” he said, and Virgil could practically see his smirk, even if he had no idea what Dylan Lionel looked like.

“I swear, if you’ve hurt him…” Virgil growled.

“I assure you, your little bird is just fine,” Dylan sneered. Virgil’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Wait, ‘little bird?’ What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Virgil asked.

“Oh, it seems your so-called ‘friend’ has been keeping secrets from you, hmm?” he laughed.

“What are you talking about?” Virgil demanded.

“Unfortunately, it is not my place to tell. Now, are you willing to help me or not?” he crooned. Virgil was silent for a moment, and he flicked his gaze up at Roman and Logan.

_ “Keep going. Roman is almost done.”  _ Logan thought, giving Virgil a firm nod.

“What do you need me to do?” Virgil asked.

“Good to see you’ve decided to be useful. I need you to seek out a scientist at Chevalier Laboratories. I assume you’ve heard of the company?” Dylan explained.

“Yes.”

“Wonderful. I need you to find a Dr. Logan Irving,” he said. Virgil’s eyebrows raised, and he glanced at Logan.

“How exactly am I supposed to do that?” Virgil scoffed.

“You seem like a smart man. I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Dylan replied dismissively.

“So when I magically find this dude, what do you want me to do?” Virgil scowled. Dylan chose to ignore his sarcasm.

“Give him this message: if he ever wants to see his precious pun-loving cafe owner again, he will surrender himself to Warehouse 3 by the docks tomorrow night at midnight,” Dylan said.

“What if I can’t find this ‘Dr. Logan Irving’ in time? What happens to Patton?” Virgil snapped.

“Why don’t you test your luck and find out,” Dylan challenged.

“Okay, okay, I’ll get your message to this guy. But how do I know that you aren’t lying to me? How do I know that Patton’s alive?” Virgil demanded. He heard a long sigh come from the phone.

“Fine. I suppose you can talk to him,” he grumbled. Virgil heard the sound of shuffling steps, and the sound of metal scraping against a surface.

“H-hello?” Patton’s voice came, and Virgil could have sobbed in relief. But he was conscious of the fact that Logan and Roman were beside him, and that Dylan was probably close enough to hear him.

“Patton? Is that really you?” Virgil asked, wary of whether or not this was some elaborate trick.

“Virgil! Whatever it is he’s asked you to do, don’t do it! I’m not worth it,” Patton begged.

“No, Patton, you are worth it. You’re going to be okay, I promise,” Virgil said, unable to keep his voice from trembling. A sudden cry of protest-- or pain, Virgil couldn’t tell-- came from the phone.

“Now Virgil, let’s not get his hopes up. You still have to find the good doctor for me. And Virgil?” Dylan’s cold voice came back. Virgil paused, looking up at Logan and Roman.

_ “I’ve got his location. Anytime you want to wrap this up is fine with me.”  _ Roman thought, glancing up from his screen and giving Virgil a thumbs-up.

“What?” he growled.

“Let’s keep this between us, shall we? We wouldn’t want Casey to get caught in a downpour,” he threatened, and the very tone of his voice seemed to make ice crawl up Virgil’s spine. There was a click heard, and the line went dead. Virgil stood frozen in shock, barely even breathing.

“Virgil, I need you to breathe. Can you hear me?” Logan asked, hesitantly reaching out to him.

“He knows who I am. He knows what I am,” Virgil gasped, his voice shell-shocked and empty.

“We will stop him Virgil, we know where he is. Besides, he was most likely being metaphorical when he threatened Casey,” Logan said, attempting to soothe Virgil.

“It’s too big of a coincidence. Why else would he make a comment about a ‘downpour’ if he didn’t know about my curse,” Virgil replied. Logan was silent for a moment, mulling over Virgil’s words.

“Not a curse,” Roman piped up. Virgil looked at the businessman with a confused and incredulous expression.

“What you can do, that’s no curse. It’s only a curse if you let it be,” Roman explained softly, blue eyes blazing with a sincerity Virgil had never seen before.

“What are you suggesting?” Virgil asked warily.

“Help us take down Dylan, and save Patton. You had the right idea before, just… ” Roman trailed off, looking away sheepishly.

“The wrong person. And probably too intense of a ‘punishment,’” Virgil finished, and now it was his turn to be bashful.

“Perhaps. Does this mean you will help us?” Logan asked, and it dawned on Virgil that Logan respectfully stayed out of his head.

“Yeah. Let’s make the bastard pay,” Virgil smirked.


	10. Caged Bird

Patton awoke to darkness. He was flat on his back, and he realized his wings were still summoned, due to the soreness and slight pain he felt from lying on top of them. He sat up gingerly, massaging his aching head and trying to take in his surroundings in the low light. Patton was sitting on some sort of metal surface, that much he could tell, but besides that, he couldn’t see anything. There was some sort of hazy glow surrounding him, and it took Patton a moment to realize that it was coming _from_ him.

The amulet hung from his neck, pulsing with what seemed to be concern. He put a hand to it, trying to will his wings away. Patton blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow when the amulet refused to cooperate. It seemed the more Patton used the amulet, the more the amulet seemed to have a mind of its own.

Patton pushed himself to his feet, shaking out the stiffness in his wings as he did so. He reached up and tried adjusting his glasses, only to discover that they were no longer on his face. He squinted, trying to peer into the surrounding darkness. Through his blurred vision, he saw something lying a few inches away from him.

The winged man crouched down and saw that the object was his glasses. One of the arms of his glasses were bent slightly out of shape, but otherwise, it seemed intact. Patton slipped them onto his face and huffed in frustration when they only made things minimally clearer. It was still dark, but at least he could make out some shapes.

He took a few steps forward, not entirely paying attention to where he was going, and suddenly Patton smacked into something. Patton stumbled backwards from whatever he had run into, wings flapping in a panic to try and keep him upright. He soon regained his balance, and reached out, stepping more carefully.

Suddenly, a blindingly bright light shone, and Patton cried out in surprise, bringing his hands up to shield his eyes. His wings folded around him defensively, and the amulet’s aura became panicked.

“Well, did you sleep well, little bird?” a voice crooned from somewhere in front of him. Patton slowly opened his eyes, lowering his arms. His wings still curled around him protectively, but Patton lowered them slightly as well.

Patton could now see that he was in a cage of some sort and that he had probably run into the metal bars in front of him. On the other side of the bars stood the man that had ambushed Patton in his apartment. He wore some sort of all black suit with yellow accents. A rather majestic looking cloak was fastened over his shoulders, the long black material brushing the floor. His dark hair was swept back from his face, displaying his scales that seemed to shift from olive green, to tawny brown, to a sickly yellow, then back to green again. The man’s left eye gleamed yellow, seeming to peer into Patton’s very soul.

“Who are you? Why did you bring me here?” Patton asked, voice quivering slightly. A spine-chilling grin split the man’s face.

“You may simply call me Deceit,” he replied, and with a sudden flourish of his cloak, he seemed to shrink before Patton’s very eyes. Soon he seemed to have disappeared, leaving Patton to glance around in confusion.

Then, Patton noticed a snake with similar scales to Deceit’s on the ground outside the cage. The snake slithered closer and slipped in between the bars and into the cell along with Patton. The snake began to grow, becoming more humanoid the bigger it got. Soon, Deceit towered over Patton, a wicked grin still splayed on his face.

Patton tried to back away from Deceit, but the scaly man closed the distance between them in two strides. His gloved hand shot out and grasped Patton’s jaw, in mock tenderness. Patton flinched, trying to squirm away from Deceit, but his mismatched eyes held him fast.

“You, my dear Patton, are bait,” Deceit crooned, his voice sickeningly sweet. Patton’s heart pounded in his chest, at first with fear, but then it morphed into something else. The thought of someone being baited into doing something because of him… it made Patton angry. No one was going to get hurt because of him, he already made that mistake with Mavis. Patton wasn’t about to let it happen again.

He grabbed Deceit’s wrist with more strength and agility than either of them had expected. Patton wrenched Deceit’s hand off of his face, and before he could really comprehend what he was doing, Patton hurled Deceit to the side. The snake-like man slammed into the cell’s bars, and Patton stared at his own hand in shock. Apparently, wielding the Aves Amulet gave him super strength. That, or Deceit was severely underweight.

Deceit was back on his feet in seconds, snarling at Patton and reaching into a pocket in his cloak for something. He produced a small remote of some sort, and before Patton could do anything, he pressed a button on it.

Electric shocks suddenly coursed through Patton’s body, and he screamed in pain. He collapsed to the ground, his body writhing and spasming even as the shocks ceased. Patton took in gasping breaths, glaring up at Deceit through pain-blurred vision.

“Oh my, aren’t we full of surprises?” Deceit cackled. He pushed the button again, and Patton cried out as his body convulsed once again. There had to be some device planted on him somewhere, if Patton could get it off, then maybe the pain would stop.

Deceit seemed to sense his intentions, because he pressed the button again, without mercy. Patton gave one last, hoarse scream before his body went limp, and his eyes slipped shut, sending him into darkness once more.

* * *

The sound of a phone ringing is what awoke Patton. His eyes opened sluggishly, his muscles incredibly stiff from the electric torment they had endured. With a pained gasp, Patton managed to push himself into a sitting position. He saw that Deceit was standing outside the cage once again, Patton’s phone in his hand. An amused smile was upon his lips, and it made Patton want to shudder in fear.

“I’m so glad you’re awake for our mystery caller, Patton. For a while there, I thought I had gone too far,” Deceit smirked, and he accepted the call, putting the phone up to his ear.

“Hello there. You must be Virgil, judging by the information on this phone,” he said, after listening for a moment. Patton’s breath hitched in his throat. Not Virgil. The poor man had too much to worry about already.

Deceit continued to speak to Virgil, although Patton wasn’t really listening. His thoughts kept spiralling into panic. He just wanted to be at home. He wanted to take care of Catpuccino and tell jokes and make puns. He wanted to be safe.

Patton snapped out of his panicked thoughts when he suddenly realized that Deceit was in his cell again, holding the phone out to Patton. He moved to take the phone from Deceit, but a glare was sent his way, so he instead leaned closer to it.

“H-hello?” Patton asked shakily.

“Patton? Is that really you?” came Virgil’s concerned voice.

“Virgil! Whatever it is he’s asked you to do, don’t do it! I’m not worth it,” Patton begged. No way was Patton going to let Virgil put himself in danger for him.

“No, Patton, you are worth it. You’re going to be okay, I promise,” Virgil said, but Patton could hear the tremble in his voice. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Deceit gave him a swift kick to Patton’s side, causing the winged man to yelp in pain.

Deceit spun on his heel, walking away from Patton and out of the cell. Part of Patton wanted to leap up and escape while Deceit was distracted, or maybe even try to get the drop on the scaly man, but Patton knew better. He didn’t want to feel electricity course through him, ever again.

“Well, my little bird, it appears we now are playing a waiting game,” Deceit said, his sickly-sweet voice sending chills down Patton’s spine.

* * *

Time passed slowly. Or quickly. Honestly, Patton couldn’t tell. He had lost track of how long he had been in the cage. Had it been days? Hours? Minutes? It was impossible to tell. So he sat in the cage, wings drooping, wondering if he was ever going to be free.

Alarms suddenly blared, and a harsh red glow came over the room. Patton scrambled to his feet, eyes darting around in a panic. What was going on? Was he in trouble? Or-- Patton dared to hope-- was he being rescued?

“Patton?” a voice called out. Patton whirled around and saw a figure standing a few feet away from the cage.

He let out a gasp when Patton realized he recognized the figure. His arm was now in a brace, rather than a sling, and he was dressed in all black, rather than a suit, but Patton would recognize those gray eyes anywhere. It was Logan, the man he had met at Catpuccino. What on earth was he doing here?

“We’ve come to rescue you,” Logan explained, walking closer to the cage.

Patton was about to ask who “we” was, but then Logan reached out and put a hand on one of the cell bars. The bars suddenly electrified at the contact, causing Logan to cry out and stumble backwards.

“Logan!” Patton shouted in concern, wanting to rush forward to help the man, but there was the slight issue of the bars in the way.

“I’m fine. Figures that Dylan would have some sort of extra defense mechanisms in place,” Logan replied, approaching the bars with more caution. Patton cocked his head to the side, confused. Who was Dylan? Did Logan mean Deceit?

“I don’t have time to figure out how to deactivate these bars,” Logan sighed. He fiddled with his watch for a moment, and Patton gasped when Logan’s body became translucent. Logan confidently strode forward, and Patton’s mouth fell open when the bars passed _through_ him.

“How did you do that?” he gasped.

“It’s called the Phaser. It allows me to pass through objects,” Logan explained with a smile. He switched the device off, and his body became solid once more.

“But how are we both going to get out?” Patton asked.

“Don’t worry, the settings can be adjusted to accommodate another person. Now, turn around. I saw something on your back,” Logan said.

“Those would be my wings,” Patton joked, but did as Logan asked. Logan let out a breathy chuckle.

“I am curious as to how you obtained these. But I have a feeling it’s a bit of a long story, and we frankly don’t have the time,” Logan replied, his hands on Patton’s back.

The touch was gentle enough, and it wasn’t that Patton didn’t feel safe around Logan, but his hands on his back made him feel uncomfortable. It just didn’t sit right with him. Maybe it was from being so isolated for so long? But that didn’t make much sense, wouldn’t Patton be desperate for human contact after being alone?

“I’ll be done in a moment, Dylan planted some sort of device on you,” Logan explained. Patton’s brow furrowed in confusion. How did Logan know exactly what to say?

“How do you keep doing that?” Patton blurted before he could really think about it.

“Pardon?” Logan asked, hands freezing from trying to get the device off of Patton’s back.

“You always seem to know what to say. I don’t even have to say anything, and you ease my worries and confusion, just like that!” Patton said, a little bashfully.

“That is… a long story. Which again, we don’t have time for,” Logan replied. Patton was going to ask what he meant by that, but Logan suddenly made a small sound of triumph.

“Did you get it off?” Patton asked.

“Yes,” Logan answered. Patton turned around to see Logan holding a small metallic disk in his hand. He looked both fascinated and disgusted by the device, and quickly pocketed it. Logan then fiddled with his watch for a moment, then held out his good arm to Patton. He stared at Logan in confusion.

“In order for this to work, you’re going to need to take my arm,” Logan explained, slightly exasperated.

“Oh!” Patton exclaimed, taking Logan’s offered arm. With some rather awkward maneuvering, Logan managed to activate the phaser. Both he and Patton became translucent, and Patton let out a slight giggle in spite of himself.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we, Patton?” Logan offered with an amused look on his face.

Patton nodded, and the two of them stepped through the bars, and out of the cage. But they were far from free.


	11. Smoke and Mirrors

Roman was ecstatic. Sure, he was slightly terrified as well, but they were _finally_ going to confront Dylan Lionel. They were going to rescue the sweet cat cafe owner, Patton Hartford. Everything was going to work out fine… right? After all, Dylan wasn’t expecting them to come! He had assumed he was only speaking to Virgil, and he wasn’t aware that Roman had been tracing the call.

As it turned out, Dylan’s hideout was at the site of the old Chevalier Laboratories building, before it had been rebuilt closer to the center of Meteor City. The building had to be relocated due to more space being needed, and because it was rather cut off from the rest of Meteor City. The old building had never been torn down, but it hadn’t ever been bought by anyone. In short, it was the perfect place for Dylan to be hiding.

“Is that thing going to be ready for this?” a voice asked incredulously, shaking Roman from his thoughts. He looked up from the suit on his lab table, and his heart traitorously skipped a beat when he saw the owner of the voice. It truly was not fair how magnificent Virgil was.

His dark brown eyes were so mesmerizing, and every so often, a flicker of violet light would shoot through them, a sign of his “curse” shining through. What made them particularly enchanting in that moment was the fact that Virgil was wearing dark eye makeup. It made him look intimidating, yes, but all the same, Roman was irrevocably drawn to Virgil. Roman wasn’t even sure where Virgil had gotten the dark eyeshadow from, not that he was complaining.

“Hello? Earth to Roman?” Virgil huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Roman. Though the move was meant to be intimidating, Roman could not help but swoon a little inside. But he quickly brushed aside his almost lovesick emotions and focused back to reality.

“Sorry! Lost in thought. And yes, the suit is just about ready! All that needs to be done is upload the AI system,” Roman explained with a wave of his hand, turning back to his work.

“Have you, like, never watched a sci-fi movie? Ever? Don’t you think an AI is a bad idea?” Virgil scoffed.

“Most science fiction movies are highly unrealistic, Virgil. It is unlikely that there would ever be a robot uprising or anything of the sort. However, the idea of an AI that Roman has created does put me at unease,” Logan said, walking over to Roman and Virgil.

“You see Virgil, Logan agree- hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Roman demanded.

“Roman, I have had the… unique… privilege of seeing into the minds of others. And frankly, what goes on in your head concerns me,” Logan frowned, not-so-subtly glancing at Virgil, then looking at Roman with an eyebrow raised.

Roman gave a frustrated groan and turned back to his suit. If those two would just let him finish uploading the AI’s system into the suit, they could set off to rescue Patton. Their endless ridiculing was holding them back!

Just then, a message flashed on Roman’s screen, saying that the AI had been successfully uploaded to the suit’s system. With a swipe of his fingers, he dismissed the message and set the handheld device down on his lab table.

“Activate AI system D3-P1C4N1,” Roman commanded, anxiously observing his suit lying on the table.

“New humans! Do you how do? I’m D3-P1C4N1, codename: Picani!” a chipper and almost childish voice came. Roman let out a sigh of relief, while Logan raised an eyebrow.

“Something is wrong with its voice modulator,” he muttered.

“Nothing is wrong with me!  I y’am what I y'am an' that's all that I y'am!” the voice said.

“Is he… quoting Popeye?” Virgil asked, an amused expression threatening to creep over his face.

“That I am! Now, for what particular reason was I activated?” Picani asked.

“We’ve got a rescue mission, and I needed an AI to assist me while I’m wearing the suit,” Roman explained.

“Heavens to Murgatroyd! What are we waiting for?” Picani chirped.

“Well, nothing now, since you’re properly uploaded into the suit’s system. Now, it’s time to suit up!” Roman declared, grinning heroically. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Virgil rolling his eyes, but Roman chose to ignore him. Instead, he held both hands out in front of him, and with a flick of his wrists, the suit began to fly to him. First the gauntlets, then the arm pieces, boots, leg pieces, chest plate, back armor, and lastly the helmet.

“Well, boys? How do I look?” Roman asked, placing his hands on his hips, and throwing his head back in a defiant stance. The suit was all white, minus the red gauntlets, red boots, the red diagonal line across his chest, the golden details, and the gold visor of his helmet.

“Like a medieval knight on steroids. In other words, like an idiot,” Virgil scoffed. Roman gave an offended gasp and flipped his faceplate up to stick out his tongue at Virgil. Virgil rolled his eyes again, and Roman put the faceplate back down. He walked over to the lab table to retrieve his shield and sword, armor clanking as he did so.

“That armor isn’t entirely quiet, Roman. How are we supposed to sneak in?” Logan asked, regarding him with a skeptical eye.

“Sure, the suit is loud when I’m walking. But you forget that this suit can fly,” Roman replied, attaching the shield to his back, and sheathing the sword at his side. He then activated his rocket boots, keeping an eye on the statistics listed on the left side of the screen in his helmet. Everything seemed to be performing as it should, and Roman grinned as he lifted a few feet in the air, with barely any sound.

“Fantastic. Let’s go. Every minute we dawdle is a minute longer that Patton is stuck with Dylan,” Virgil said, flipping his hood up.

* * *

The flight to the old Chevalier Laboratories was a quiet one, the three of them flying in a slight v-formation. Roman was the point, Virgil on his right, and Logan at his left. Storms followed them as they flew, and distantly Roman wondered if this would give them away to Dylan.

However, it was too late for that, as they landed at the base of the old building. Parts of it were crumbling, and it seemed empty and abandoned. Roman was beginning to wonder if this was the wrong place. Had he tracked the call incorrectly?

“This is it, I can sense them. Patton is in one of the higher levels, whereas Dylan is in one of the lower ones,” Logan said.

“Is Patton okay? Does Dylan know we’re here?” Virgil fretted, giving the building a wary glance.

“Patton is a bit scared and confused, otherwise he seems fine. Dylan isn’t aware we are here,” Logan replied. Virgil breathed out a sigh of relief.

“So how do we go about doing this?” Roman asked.

“I’ll go up to rescue Patton, you two keep Dylan distracted. I’ll set up a telepathic link, to assure we stay in contact,” Logan ordered.

“Whoa there, who made you the leader?” Virgil scoffed.

“I’m obviously the smartest, that makes me the best choice. Now any more time we spend arguing is more time that Patton is held against his will,” Logan said sharply.

“Fine. C’mon Roman, let’s go make a distraction,” Virgil grumbled, striding towards the entrance. Roman had no choice but to follow, drawing his sword.

The building was dark as they entered, and eerily quiet. The edge of Roman’s sword, as well as his gold visor, cast the room in a golden glow. Virgil’s eyes gleamed violet, and lightning danced between his fingertips.

“Let’s liven things up, shall we?” Virgil drawled, his voice taking on an echoey and dissonant tone. He spread his arms wide, and electricity seemed to draw towards him, dancing along his form and swirling around him. It was both the most beautiful and most terrifying thing Roman had ever seen.

With a mighty shout, Virgil shot all the lightning outwards, the lights of the building suddenly flickering to life as they were met with a surge of electricity. Roman was very glad for the suit of armor that protected him from the lightning. The lightning soon faded, but the lights still flickered sporadically.

“Well, if that won’t get his attention, I don’t know what will,” Roman muttered. Just then, alarms began blaring, and the room was cast in a red glow.

_“That may have been a bit overkill, but good job. Dylan is heading your way. Keep him occupied while I retrieve Patton.”_ Logan’s thought suddenly came. Roman jumped, a bit surprised to hear Logan’s voice in his head.

_“Will do.”_ Roman thought back, a little unused to speaking through thoughts. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it, because a cold voice suddenly called out to them.

“Virgil, I thought we agreed that you would keep this between us. And now you’ve brought this… knight… instead of doing as I asked,” the voice scoffed. Roman whirled around and spotted Dylan Lionel standing a few feet away from them. But there was something very wrong with his appearance. While half of his face was normal, the other half was reptilian. His left eye gleamed yellow, seeming to peer into Roman’s very soul.

“I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing,” Virgil growled.

“Oh please, don’t pretend to be a hero. You’re nothing but a monster, and you know it,” Dylan spat. Virgil seemed to shrink back slightly, and Roman clenched his fist, while his other hand gripped his sword tighter.

“Don’t talk to him like that! Clearly, the only monster here is you, Dylan!” Roman roared, brandishing his sword. Dylan raised an eyebrow.

“Well, well, well, this knight of yours has quite the attitude. He’s either brave or an idiot. Maybe we should fix that,” he growled.

A strange smoky substance started to ooze from Dylan. It grew around him in a cloud, and he grinned wickedly.

“Picani, what am I looking at here?” Roman asked.

“It appears to be some sort of poisonous gas. It doesn’t match any known toxins. However, your suit should filter it, and you will be able to breathe normally,” the AI answered. Roman breathed out a sigh of relief, but then he was hit with a terrifying thought.

“Wait, what about-” but his sentence was cut off by Dylan suddenly sending the gas at Roman and Virgil. While Roman continued to breathe as normal, Virgil immediately began to choke and clutch at his throat.

“Virgil!” Roman cried out, rushing to the man’s side, unsure of what to do. Virgil fell to his knees, coughing violently.

Suddenly, as quickly as the gas appeared, it vanished. And Dylan along with it. Virgil gasped, finally able to draw fresh air into his lungs. Roman’s shoulders sagged in relief as Virgil’s breathing returned to normal.

“Are you alright?” Roman asked, offering a hand to Virgil. Virgil’s head snapped up, and there was pure terror in his violet eyes. Lightning suddenly shot out from him, causing Roman to fly backwards, sword flying from his grip. Roman groaned in mild pain, ignoring the warning messages that were flaring across his screen.

“Roman, I am detecting a high amount of adrenaline in Virgil’s system. His heart rate is also elevated. I believe that gas may have been a hallucinogen of some sort,” Picani said.

“Meaning?”

“It is likely that Virgil is hallucinating, and isn’t aware that he is attacking you,” Picani explained.

“Oh great. How do we make him stop hallucinating?” Roman asked, scrambling to his feet, and taking his shield off of his back.

“I am unsure. Perhaps if we somehow shock him out of his fear, it would help him to realize what he’s seeing isn’t real,” Picani said. Roman was about to reply, but Virgil shot another blast of lightning, and he barely got his shield up in time to deflect the blast.

“Virgil, it’s me, it’s Roman! Whatever you’re seeing isn’t real!” he cried out, flipping his faceplate up. Virgil paused for a moment, and Roman thought that his words had snapped Virgil out of it, but another lightning blast was hurled at him. Roman put his shield up again, the surge pushing him backwards slightly.

“Roman, I may have an idea,” Picani piped up.

“Let’s hear it,” he replied, panting slightly.

“You enjoy fairytales, yes?” Picani asked. Roman raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but what does that-”

“True Love’s Kiss. While it is an unusual concept, a kiss would surprise Virgil enough to come back to reality,” Picani explained.

“Picani, as much as I have fantasized about kissing Virgil, I’m not sure this is going to work. I can’t even get close to him!” Roman exclaimed, dodging another lightning blast.

“I’m not sure we have any other option,” Picani replied.

“Okay, okay, I’ll try it,” Roman huffed. He raised his right hand and shot an electric pulse blast at Virgil. He was sent sprawling backwards, and Roman winced when Virgil landed with a thump. Roman quickly rushed over to Virgil, who was momentarily dazed.

“Sorry about the lack of consent,” Roman murmured, and with that, he gently took Virgil’s face in his hands, and pressed his lips to Virgil’s. Virgil stiffened, eyes wide with surprise. Roman pulled away and scanned Virgil’s face for any sign that it worked. Virgil blinked in confusion, but that confusion quickly morphed into anger.

“Did you just fucking kiss me?!” he shouted, shoving Roman away from him and scrambling to his feet.

“You were hallucinating, I didn’t know how else to snap you out of it,” Roman admitted bashfully, rising to his feet as well.

“Whatever, let’s go find Dylan and-” Virgil stopped mid-sentence, eyes wide with fear.

“Virgil, what’s wrong- augh!” Roman screamed in pain, horrified to see the tip of a sword-- _his_ sword-- protruding from his abdomen.

“Oh, you won’t need to find me. Because I’ve been here the whole time. Such a poor knight you make, Mr. Chevalier,” a voice taunted in Roman’s ear. The blade was harshly pulled out, causing a scream to escape past clenched teeth. Roman was suddenly shoved forward, and he gasped in pain as red-hot agony flared in his abdomen. His vision blurred, and he could vaguely make out voices saying something to him. There was shouting, electricity in the air, but that all began to fade away as Roman’s eyes fluttered closed.


	12. Fears and Illusions

Logan had taken one, maybe two steps out of the cell when he suddenly felt an alarming pulse of fear shoot through him. He gasped as his knees suddenly became wobbly, and he clung to Patton to try and stay upright. What was causing this sudden, incapacitating fear? Sure, Logan was nervous about rescuing Patton and returning him home safely, but not enough to warrant something like this!

“Logan?!” Patton gasped, and Logan felt a warm glow envelop him. Logan immediately felt stronger, more level-headed.

“How did you-”

“Healing powers! Pretty useful, huh? I could even heal your arm if you want me to!” Patton offered. Logan gave a small smile, unbelievably blown away by the kindness of this man. Patton had suffered goodness knows what, and he still was as cheerful as when Logan had first met him at Catpuccino.

“It’s a kind offer, but I believe there are more pressing matters at hand. I- ah!” Logan cut himself off with a sudden cry of surprise as the fear only grew stronger. It was then that Logan realized that this fear wasn’t his own. It was Virgil’s. He had to go down and help them, but Virgil’s fear was so consuming that Logan could barely think clearly. So much so, in fact, that he couldn’t sense Roman, Dylan, or even Patton’s thoughts.

“Logan, you need to breathe. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. Can you try that for me?” Patton asked, suddenly in front of Logan and gently holding his shoulders. Logan wasn’t even aware he was having issues breathing, he was so overwhelmed. He took in a shaky breath, but was only able to hold it to three seconds.

“It’s okay, try again, focus on me,” Patton urged, and Logan felt that warm glow return. He took in another breath, a bit more steady this time, and managed to hold it for seven seconds. Logan tried his best to release it slowly, but he only made it to five seconds.

“You’re doing so well. Keep going, okay?” Patton encouraged, and Logan nodded. He did the exercise a few times more, and soon his breathing returned to normal.

“Thank you. I apologize for that, being a telepath has its drawbacks. Virgil and Roman are most likely in trouble, we need to-” Logan paused mid-sentence as the fear was suddenly gone.

“What is it?” Patton asked timidly.

“Virgil was terrified just moments ago, now it’s gone,” Logan answered, extremely confused at the sudden turn of emotion.

“In any case, we should go down! I’m dying to see Virgil again, and I’d very much like to meet Roman!” Patton exclaimed with a grin. Logan let out a light chuckle.

“Very well. But we must be careful. Dylan could very well-” Logan broke off with a gasp. He was getting tired of being interrupted by the thoughts and emotions of the other two, but he was too busy worrying about the sudden pain he felt emanating from Roman.

“Roman,” Logan gasped.

“What now? And who’s Dylan? Do you mean Deceit? Lo- ah!” Patton gave a yelp of surprise as Logan suddenly grabbed him and activated the Phaser once more. Which he was able to do surprisingly easily, as his arm seemed completely healed. It seemed while Patton was leading Logan through the breathing exercises, he was also healing him. Logan would have to thank him later, now was not the time. Roman and Virgil needed them.

He willed the two of them to phase through the floor, Patton letting out another yelp as they did so. They soon reached the floor that Roman, Virgil, and Dylan were on, and both Logan and Patton observed the situation with horror-stricken expressions. Roman was sprawled face-down on the floor, Dylan standing over him with Roman’s now bloodied sword. Virgil stood a few feet from Dylan and Roman, fog curling at his feet and lightning traveling between his fingertips. Anger blazed in his eerie violet eyes, but Logan could sense the fear Virgil felt for Roman. And from Roman, Logan felt… nothing. Were they too late?

“Hmph. I see you’ve retrieved your lost love. Now I have to change my plans,” Dylan muttered. Logan and Patton exchanged confused and slightly flustered glances.

“Uh, we’re not a couple?” Patton laughed nervously.

“What? But it seemed so obvious- augh!” Dylan exclaimed and was suddenly thrown backwards with a blast of lightning from Virgil, causing Roman’s sword to fly from his grip.

“Well, that was quite a shocking development!” Patton grinned, and Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes and groan.

“Patton, this isn’t the time for puns,” he muttered, gesturing at Roman.

“Right, sorry!” Patton chirped, and went to Roman’s side, gently rolling him over so that he was on his back. Virgil took a defensive stance in front of them, eyeing Dylan warily. The snake-faced man was slowly rising to his feet, glowering at Virgil and the others.

“It’s over, Dylan,” Logan said, walking over to stand beside Virgil.

“Oh please, Logan, there’s no need to be so formal. You may simply call me Deceit,” he said, his mismatched eyes flashing with malice.

“‘Deceit?’ What are you, a wannabe cartoon supervillain?” Virgil scoffed.

“Oh Virgil, you’ve really hurt my pride there. And Logan, I’m afraid that this is far from over,” Deceit taunted, and before their very eyes, his form began to shift into something else. No- _someone_ else. His hair became longer and lighter, and his eyes shifted to a dazzling blue. Soon, a mirror image of Roman stood before them.

“Can’t let Chevalier Laboratories be without its CEO,” Deceit said with a malicious grin, the look so foreign on Roman’s face. Deceit held out his hands, and a strange smoky substance started to emit from them.

“Don’t breathe it in!” Virgil exclaimed as the smoke began to billow outward and hide Deceit from view. Logan held his breath as long as he could, moving forward and trying to get to Deceit. But as soon as the smoke appeared, it vanished. And Deceit had vanished with it.

“Where did he go?” Logan asked, whirling around. He was rather alarmed to discover that the others had vanished too.

“Virgil? Roman? Patton?” Logan called out, beginning to walk forward, but ended up slamming into something. That something being a glass wall. Logan turned again but found another glass wall behind him. It was the same story on his left and right. Where had this sudden enclosure come from?

“This can’t be happening, this doesn’t make sense,” Logan muttered. It was a good thing he had telekinesis, maybe he could will the glass to shatter. But when he tried, nothing happened.

“What?” he questioned, trying to focus his powers again. But he felt nothing. Logan was completely cut off, and that terrified him.

“Why can’t I-” Logan’s sentence cut off with a gasp. The glass enclosure had suddenly begun to rapidly fill with water. It already rose to Logan’s waist, how was that even possible?! There was no clear place for the water to be coming from, nothing made sense, this couldn’t possibly be-

Logan felt a sharp stinging sensation along his cheek. He fell back into the water, unintentionally taking it into his lungs. He came up sputtering and gasping, the water now at chest level. What on earth was that? It was almost as if he had been slapped across the face, but no one else was there.

“Logan, whatever you’re seeing isn’t real. Snap out of it!” a voice called out, but it sounded far away and distant. A strange sensation settled over Logan’s shoulders, as if someone were gripping them tightly. Logan blinked, and for a moment he saw Virgil in front of him, his eyes filled with concern. But then the glass enclosure was back, the water to his neck.

It wasn’t real. It was just a hallucination. He could still faintly feel Virgil’s hands on his shoulders, see the ghost of his dark brown eyes peering at him. But he could also feel the rising water, see the glass around him. Every instinct told him that he was going to drown. He would drown, alone and cut off.

Logan felt fingernails digging into his shoulders, and he was thrown from the hallucination and to the sight of Virgil standing before him. He grasped Virgil’s arms, desperately trying to cling to reality as his breathing evened out. He was in the old Chevalier Laboratories building. He wasn’t going to drown.

“Ow,” Logan muttered, once he felt grounded enough to be sure that he wouldn’t slip back into the hallucination again. Virgil detached his hands from Logan’s shoulders with a wince.

“Sorry, it was either that or kiss you,” he replied, glancing over at Roman, who was still lying on the floor, with Patton beside him. A warm glow emanated from Patton, enveloping all of them.

“Is he going to be alright?” Logan asked, regarding the businessman who had somehow managed to become-- dare he think it-- a friend within the few days of meeting him. Sure, Roman could be obnoxious, but he didn’t deserve this.

“I think I can heal him. It’ll be difficult, but I can do it,” Patton replied. The winged man took a steadying breath and placed his hands on Roman’s wound. The warm glow seemed to flow into Roman, and within a few moments, his eyes fluttered open with a gasp.

“What- what’s happening…” Roman gasped, his blue eyes hazy. Despite this, Roman tried his best to sit up. He was quickly halted by Virgil, who gently pushed him back to the ground with a hand on his chest.

“Easy there, you just got stabbed, idiot,” Virgil huffed, and although he acted annoyed, Logan could sense the deep concern Virgil felt for Roman.

“Oh. Well, I- oh _shit_ ,” Roman gasped out, and Logan winced in sympathy at the sudden pain that he sensed from Roman.

“Sorry kiddo. I know it can’t exactly be fun, feeling your body rebuild itself,” Patton soothed. Logan frowned at Patton’s kindness, confused as to how he was managing to keep a cheery disposition despite the thoughts that Logan could sense. Patton was still rather shaken by being held captive by Dylan-- or Deceit, as the man seemed to prefer-- and not to mention that such exertion of his power was tiring him out rather quickly.

“No one’s ever called me ‘kiddo’ before,” Roman whispered forlornly. Logan’s frown deepened, and he risked a glance into Roman’s thoughts. They were hazy and muddled, but Logan could make out the memories of a mother that died while he was young, and a father who cared, but was never truly around.

“Well, we’re just gonna have to change that, aren’t we, kiddo!” Patton grinned, and Roman gave a weak smile in return.

The healing process continued in relative silence, minus Roman’s whimpers and gasps of pain every now and then. But soon Roman’s wound had been completely healed, and he was gently moved into a sitting position. Patton looked like he was about ready to pass out, and he willed his wings away with a heavy sigh.

“I fear we may need a new base of operations. Dylan- erm, Deceit- left with intentions of taking your place, Roman. And with his apparent shapeshifting abilities, that won’t be a difficult task for him,” Logan pointed out.

“But where can we go?” Virgil asked. A silence settled over the group for a moment.

“I may know a place… an old friend of mine has the resources we would need…” Roman trailed off.

“But?” Virgil prompted.

“But he’s a little… eccentric. And he has quite the attitude,” Roman warned.

“He can’t be worse than you,” Virgil scoffed. A flicker of annoyance passed through Roman, but he brushed it aside with a sigh.

“I’m afraid he just might be. But I think that Remy Raines may be our only hope,” Roman replied grimly. Logan wasn’t entirely sure he liked where this was going, but any hope was better than no hope.


	13. Inhumans In Meteor City

To be honest, Virgil didn’t like the idea of this “Remy Raines” person. From what Roman had described, this guy sounded horrifyingly outgoing and flirtatious. But it wasn’t like they had much of a choice, Deceit was most likely at Chevalier Labs, waiting for them.

Getting to the mansion was a bit awkward since they had to fly while basically dragging Roman along with them. His suit was damaged from when Deceit had stabbed him, and it was causing all of his systems to work sporadically. But it wasn’t too bad, Patton was able to carry Roman most of the way, because not only did he have wings, he was incredibly strong too. This only raised the number of questions Virgil had for his friend, but that was a conversation for later.

They arrived at the large mansion, just outside of Meteor City. The house was very chic and modern, in a white and black color scheme, except for one detail. The large windows of the house were made from colored glass. Every color of the rainbow seemed to be there, and the bright colors contrasted quite drastically with the monochromatic color scheme of the house. The sight made Virgil’s eyes burn, he could tell already that this guy was going to be just as obnoxious as his house.

“I’d better knock, he knows me,” Roman said, walking to the door on slightly wobbly feet. Although his injury had been healed, Roman was still very weak, and Virgil thought he just might punch him if Roman kept trying to overexert himself. How he ended up caring so much for that idiot, Virgil didn’t know, but he did his best to ignore it.

Roman knocked on the door, Virgil and the others waiting behind him. There was no answer for a few moments, and Virgil vaguely wondered if they had the wrong mansion. Or if this supposed friend of Roman’s wasn’t willing to help them. However, the door soon opened a sliver, then swung wide to reveal a man in a black leather jacket and sunglasses. He was grinning and holding an iced coffee, and Virgil resisted the urge to shudder and cringe.

“Roman! Gurl, it has been too long! And you’ve brought friends!” the man exclaimed, lowering his sunglasses to look at Virgil, Logan, and Patton.

“Remy! It is so good to see you. Now, it is of the highest importance that we-” Roman started, but was cut off by Remy.

“Uh huh, yeah. Now, who might this gorgeous stranger be?” Remy asked, winking at Virgil. In response, Virgil did the only logical thing. He hissed at Remy. The man’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but they quickly regained their mischievous glint.

“Oh, I like this one. He’s feisty,” Remy purred. Roman’s face twisted into a grimace, and he glared daggers at Remy.

“Leave him alone, we have more important matters to attend to,” he growled. Virgil and Patton exchanged confused glances, while Logan gave a slight smirk paired with a knowing look in his eyes.

“Oh! Roman, jealousy suits you! Now, come in, come in! Frankly, you all look like disasters, but lucky for you, the great Remy Raines is at your service!” he declared, gesturing for the others to follow him. Roman made a slightly indignant sound at Remy’s comment about “jealousy,” but followed the exuberant man inside. Logan and Patton followed after Roman, and with much hesitation, so did Virgil.

The house very much matched the exterior, all of its interior decorating being very monochromatic as well. While the large, colored windows had seemed obnoxious on the outside, they actually complimented the inside rather well. The sunlight streamed in through the windows, splashing sections of the house with colored light. Remy led them into a living room, decorated with two long white couches, black coffee table, a white plush rug, and a sleek black fireplace with a TV above it. The window in the living room was purple, casting a fair amount of the room with a lavender light.

Remy flopped down onto one of the couches, inviting the others to do so as well with a wave of his hand. Virgil hesitated but sat down across from Remy, Patton sitting next to him, and Logan next to Patton. Roman remained standing, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other.

“Now, I am curious about several things. Firstly, why is there a hole in your armor? Doesn’t exactly seem like a good idea,” Remy said, taking a sip of his iced coffee. Virgil stared at the man incredulously.

“Hold up, your first question is ‘why is there a hole in his armor,’ not ‘why is he wearing armor?’” Virgil asked.

“Well, I was curious about that too, but I’m not gonna hate,” Remy shrugged. Roman let out a long sigh.

“I got stabbed,” he huffed. Remy blinked in surprise, nearly dropping his iced coffee.

“You seem to be pretty peachy for someone who got stabbed. When did that happen?” Remy asked, idly swirling his straw in his drink.

“Uh, about an hour ago? Maybe a little longer,” Roman replied. This time, the iced coffee did fall from Remy’s grip, but it never hit the floor. Instead, it hovered a few inches above the ground. Remy’s jaw dropped, staring at the floating cup with a mix of awe and confusion.

“I apologize, I really should warn people before I use my powers,” Logan said, his eyes glowing blue. The cup floated up to gently land on the coffee table, and the blue faded from Logan’s eyes, returning to their usual gray shade.

“I didn’t think I’d find more inhumans,” Remy gasped.

“Inhumans?” Patton asked.

“And what do you mean, ‘more?’” Virgil asked.

“Inhumans. People who have powers, unusual gifts. I thought I was the only inhuman in Meteor City,” Remy explained.

“You have powers?” Virgil asked, glancing at the others.

“Yes, I can- well, maybe it’s easier to show you,” Remy said, standing up and walking over to Roman. Roman starts to back away slightly, but Remy reaches out and gently touches Roman’s forehead. His eyes flutter closed, and he pitches forward. Virgil leaps to his feet as Remy catches Roman in his arms.

“What the hell did you do to him?!” Virgil demands.

“Give it a minute,” Remy answered. Virgil clenched his fists, and thunder rumbled in the distance.

A few moments later, Roman’s eyes sluggishly open, and he yawns, blinking tiredly. He straightens up, rubbing his eyes. Remy steps away from him, sitting back down on the couch.

“What?” Roman asked. He glanced around the room in confusion, eyes landing on Virgil, who still stood with his fists clenched.

“I’m like King Midas, but instead of turning people to gold when I touch them, I just make them fall asleep,” Remy explained. Virgil frowns but sits down once more.

“You were born with this ability,” Logan said.

“And you can apparently read minds,” Remy replied. Logan’s face heats up, and he stares guiltily at the ground.

“Apologies, I should have asked before reading your mind,” Logan said sheepishly.

“Gurl, you’re fine. Now, I think some introductions are in order,” Remy said, his gaze shifting between them.

“Well, I am Dr. Logan Irving, and as you clearly caught on, I have telekinetic and telepathic abilities. I acquired them from an accident about four days ago,” Logan said.

“I’m Patton Hartford, and I have wings! And healing powers. And possibly super strength? I dunno. But they all come from this amulet!” Patton exclaims, gesturing at the amulet that dangles around his neck. Remy’s eyes widen with surprise-- and oddly enough, recognition-- when he sees the amulet. But he doesn’t say anything and instead looks expectantly at Virgil.

“Uh… I’m Virgil Emory. I can manipulate storms and stuff,” he said, deciding not to divulge exactly how he got his powers. Oddly enough, Remy seemed to recognize his name. Or at least, his last name.

“Well, it seems you’ve come to the right place,” Remy said, standing up and walking over to the fireplace. He runs a hand along the sleek black stone and pushes a section in. The fireplace split apart, revealing a staircase leading down into darkness.

“What is it with you rich people and your secret doors,” Virgil muttered. Remy shrugged and headed down the stairs. Roman, Logan, Patton, and Virgil followed after him, and Virgil tried his best not to panic as the fireplace slid shut behind them.

They walked down the stairs in relative silence, eventually reaching the bottom. Lights flickered on as they entered, revealing what seemed to be some sort of lab. A large screen and control panel was along one wall, tables littered with various tools were in the middle of the room, but what interested Virgil the most was what was on the wall opposite the large computer. There was a line of display cases, each of them holding a suit of some sorts.

Patton walked over to one of the display cases, putting a hand on the glass. The suit inside was a pale blue, with swirling gray patterns on it. The boots and gloves were gray as well, and propped up on the mannequin's head was a pair of what seemed to be high-tech blue and gray aviator goggles. On the chest of the suit, there was an indent that looked as if Patton’s amulet should fit inside.

“This was my mom’s, wasn’t it?” Patton asked in a choked whisper.

“Yes. My family has been keeping tabs on and helping inhumans for years. I can still clearly remember when your mom approached my parents, asking them to make this for her,” Remy said, and Virgil is surprised to hear his voice so sincere.

“Wait, if you keep tabs on inhumans, how come you didn’t know we existed?” Virgil asked.

“I- I’m not sure. I’ve never been entirely good at this. However, I am good at designing suits. And coming up with codenames. Shall we begin?” Remy asked, grinning widely.


	14. Heritage

Patton could hardly believe it. His mom had been a superhero? Did his dad know about this? Patton had to call him when he got the chance, but now was not the time for that. Remy was chatting excitedly about suit designs, codenames, and a bunch of stuff Patton didn’t quite understand.

“So Patton, I still have all of the design specs for your mom’s suit. I’d have to tweak it a bit, but it would still have the same basic design. Unless you want something completely different for your suit,” Remy said, shaking Patton out of his thoughts.

“No, that sounds great!” Patton replied. Remy nods in response and goes over to talk to the others about suit designs.

Seeing as the others were busy, Patton figured this would be the best time to call his dad. He pulled out his phone-- which Patton was honestly surprised it had survived this whole ordeal-- and dialed his dad’s number. He put the phone up to his ear, waiting for his dad to answer.

“Patton?” a voice came.

“Dad!” Patton exclaimed, grinning.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright. I saw that Catpuccino hadn’t been open for the past few days, and I got worried,” his dad said.

“I’m okay now, Dad. I do have a question for you, though,” Patton said, biting his lip nervously.

“Patton, what do you mean, ‘okay now?’” he asked.

“It’s a long story. But… did you know Mom was a superhero?” Patton asked. There was silence on the other end for a moment.

“I was afraid this day would come,” he sighed.

“So you did know! Why did you hide this from me?!” Patton demanded, beginning to feel tears gather in his eyes.

“Because I knew that either you or Mavis would try to follow in her footsteps,” he answered. Patton felt frustration and anguish pool in his gut.

“What would have been so wrong with that?!” Patton cried out, tears now flowing free.

“I didn’t want you getting killed,” his dad said, trying to soothe Patton.

“You not telling us already got Mavis killed, Dad!” Patton snapped. Patton regretted the words the instant they were out of his mouth.

“Dad, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-”

“It’s alright, Patton. Maybe you’re right. I should have told the both of you sooner. I just was so terrified when I lost Hal… I didn’t want to lose anyone else,” he said softly.

“It’s okay, Dad. I promise I’ll be careful, okay?” Patton soothed.

“Guess there’s no changing your mind,” he sighed.

“People need me. I’m not going to stand by and watch,” Patton said firmly. He heard his dad’s soft laughter coming from the phone.

“You are truly your mother’s son. She’d be proud of you,” he said.

“Thanks, Dad. Love you,” Patton said, tears in his eyes for an entirely different reason now.

“I love you too, Patton,” his dad replied. His dad ended the call, and Patton lowered his phone with a sad smile.

Something was suddenly draped over his shoulders, and Patton looked up in surprise to see Logan standing beside him. The scientist had draped a blanket over Patton’s shoulders, which he was extremely grateful for. His shirt was in tatters, thanks to his wings being summoned so harshly just three days prior when Deceit kidnapped him.

“I can’t entirely sympathize since I never had a father, but it seems you and your father have some history. Care to talk about it?” Logan asked. Patton nodded, and he let Logan lead him over to a relatively clear table, and he hopped up to sit on the edge of the table. Patton joined him, legs slowly swinging back and forth.

“I’m sorry you never had a dad,” Patton said. Logan let out an amused chuckle.

“Don’t be. Both of my mothers are wonderful, I never could have asked for better parents,” Logan said with a soft smile.

“Aw, they sound great!” Patton cooed.

“Yes, but that’s enough about me. Now, what exactly happened between you and your father?” Logan asked.

“Well, he hid something pretty huge from me and my sister, Mavis. My mom, Halcyone Hartford, was a mystic. And apparently, a superhero too, as I just found out,” Patton said, pausing to look at the suit sitting in the display case.

“After she died, my dad hid away all of her mystic things. I guess he thought that if he pretended it never existed, Mavis and I wouldn’t get hurt. But then Mavis got kidnapped, and when I tried to give them the Aves Amulet like they wanted, the amulet bonded with me instead. And then those men-” Patton’s voice broke off, trying to muffle a sob. Logan put a hand on his back, and Patton immediately turned and hugged Logan tightly. He stiffened at first, but then slowly put his arms around Patton.

Patton sheepishly pulled away a few moments later, wiping the tears from his eyes. He tugged the blanket tighter around his shoulders, awkwardly staring at the ground. Patton didn’t mean to dump all of that on Logan, goodness knows the man had better things to do than comfort a blubbering cafe owner.

“Patton, the very idea that you feel as if you are burdening me is absurd. Although Deceit had the wrong impression when he kidnapped you… ” Logan pauses, flushing slightly, “I do consider you to be a treasured friend.”

Patton blinked in surprise, momentarily forgetting that Logan was a telepath and could read minds. His face grew red at the realization that Logan had heard what he was thinking.

“I keep forgetting you can read minds,” Patton chuckled nervously.

“And I keep reading people’s minds without permission. Sorry,” Logan muttered, a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, you’re fine! I’m an open book, nothing to hide here!” Patton grinned. Logan laughed, and the sound was soft and sweet to Patton’s ears. His gray eyes were usually so calculating, but there was a strange warmness to them whenever Logan looked at Patton.

Unexpectedly, Patton felt a fluttering sensation in his stomach, and he felt somewhat warm and tingly as he watched Logan laugh. Patton's eyes widened and he stilled slightly. He had never felt like this before, about anyone. Logan raised an eyebrow, looking as if he were about to say something, but then a voice interrupted them.

“Lovebirds, get off my table! I can't build your fabulous super suits while you're debating on whether or not you're gonna make out or not,” Remy declared. Patton flushed bright red, and Logan turned to glare at Remy over his shoulder.

“Mr. Raines! That comment was highly unnecessary!” Logan fumed.

“Yeah, yeah, just get off of my table,” Remy said dismissively. Logan rolled his eyes and slid off the table. He offered a hand to Patton, who took it and let Logan help him down off of the table. As soon as they were both off, Remy began fiddling with something, Roman at his side and giving him pointers and ideas.

“The only reason I somewhat tolerate Remy is because he is so willing to help us. His behavior is… irritating. Are you alright?” Logan asked.

“Well, of course! Remy was just joking around…” Patton trailed off. To be honest, Patton was feeling a whole mess of emotions at the moment, and he wasn’t sure if that qualified as “alright.” Logan opened his mouth, looking as if he was going to say something else, but Roman suddenly called his name.

“My apologies, Patton. It appears Roman needs me… perhaps we can talk later?” Logan sighed, giving a hopeful glance to Patton.

“That sounds great!” Patton chirped. Logan gave a relieved smile, and turned around, walking over to Remy and Roman.

Patton watched him leave, trying to discern the emotions he was feeling. What was that strange, fluttery sensation he felt when Logan laughed? Maybe he was just happy to see Logan happy? Or was it something more? Could it be-

A hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder, causing Patton to yelp in surprise. He whirled around to see Virgil, and Patton let out a relieved giggle.

“Oh! Hi Virgil, I didn’t realize you were there,” Patton said, smiling brightly.

“Are you okay?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow. Patton’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“Well of course I am!” Patton replied. Virgil didn’t seem convinced.

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna pry or anything, but you seem to be doing relatively well for a guy who was kidnapped by a crazed inhuman,” Virgil said skeptically. Patton bit his lip nervously.

“Sure, it was really scary, but I’m safe now! And we’re gonna put a stop to Deceit,” Patton replied, although he didn’t feel as confident as he sounded.

“You know, it’s okay to be not okay,” Virgil said softly. Patton sighed and hugged himself slightly.

“I am okay… I’m just kind of feeling a lot right now,” Patton assured him. Although, he wasn’t sure if he was assuring Virgil, or if he was assuring himself.

“Do you…” Virgil trails off, holding his arms out. Patton practically throws himself into Virgil’s arms. Virgil’s embrace was a bit awkward, as if the man had little experience hugging someone, but Patton felt warm and protected all the same.

“Wanna talk about it?” Virgil asked, pulling away. Patton nodded, fixing his glasses and wiping at his eyes slightly.

“Yeah, I think so. But they’re not all bad emotions, just confusing ones,” Patton answered. Virgil nods in understanding, but before Patton can begin talking, Virgil’s phone rings.

“Hold on, let me-” Virgil’s sentence cuts off when he sees the number that’s calling him. He puts the phone to his ear immediately, his eyes wide and one hand going to run through his hair.

“Virgil?” Patton asked. Virgil doesn’t reply, but Patton can feel the air become just a tad more humid, and fog begins to gather in Remy’s lab.

“Gurl, who invited all of this nasty fog down here?! How’s a guy supposed to-” Remy was cut off by an icy glare from Logan. Roman walked away from the lab table and towards Virgil, but hesitated.

“Mhm. Okay. Yes, thank you. I’ll be there soon,” Virgil said, and Patton was concerned as to how Virgil both seemed numb and anxious at the same time. Virgil hung up and slipped his phone back into his pocket. Patton and the others watched Virgil with varying levels of curiosity, worry, and fear.

“Casey. They’re awake, but… something weird is happening. I need to go to them,” Virgil explained, and before anyone could say anything, he left Remy’s lab.


	15. Cursed Love

Roman watched Virgil’s retreating form for a moment, until deciding he couldn’t just let Virgil face this on his own. He pressed a button on his mostly-broken suit and was relieved when the armor began to split apart down the middle, allowing him to step out of it. Roman quickly adjusted his rumpled hoodie, and darted after Virgil, ignoring Logan shouting his name.

He caught up with Virgil fairly quickly, sprinting up the stairs, out of the hidden door in the fireplace, and into the living room. Virgil was walking away but halted when he heard Roman’s footsteps. Roman could practically feel the tension rolling off of Virgil… unless that was just the fog curling at the man’s feet.

“What do you want?” Virgil asked.

“I’m not sure if we should be going out alone. With Dylan- erm, Deceit- out there, it might not be safe,” Roman rambled.

“Right. Because a guy with a broken suit of armor is gonna protect me,” Virgil scoffed, turning to glower at Roman.

“I’m more than the armor, you know,” Roman huffed. Virgil didn’t reply, mouth set in a firm line.

“Look, I feel terrible about what happened to Casey. Even if it wasn’t totally my fault. The least I can do is accompany you while you check up on them,” Roman sighed. Virgil looked surprised for a moment, but then quickly schooled his expression back to indifference.

“I guess you’re not gonna stop bugging me until I let you come along,” Virgil conceded, motioning for Roman to follow him.

* * *

The cab ride to Meteor City Hospital was mostly quiet, the driver making no attempt at conversation. The only sound was the music playing from the radio, and Roman vaguely recognized the song as one from a notorious “emo” band. He glanced at Virgil, who he assumed would be enjoying the song, but Roman was surprised to see a rather melancholy look on the other man’s face.

“This song was- is- a favorite of Casey’s,” Virgil explained, when he saw Roman’s concerned glance. Roman reached out and placed a comforting hand on Virgil’s arm.

“Virgil, Casey is going to be just fine! They’ll be back to jamming out to emo tunes before you know it!” Roman exclaimed. Virgil let out a soft laugh, eyes crinkling slightly. Roman felt his heart flutter. For the few days that Roman had known Virgil, the man had always seemed grumpy or distant. But now, with this slight expression of joy over his face, Roman thought Virgil had never looked more adorable, despite the smudged makeup and dark clothing.

“Thanks, Roman,” Virgil replied softly. Virgil looked up, and dark brown met sparkling blue. There was an uncharacteristically soft look in Virgil’s eyes, and Roman was nearly overcome with the urge to kiss him. But considering how he responded to the kiss in Deceit’s lair, Roman knew it wasn’t a good idea.

* * *

They soon arrived at Meteor City Hospital, and Roman pretended not to notice the storm clouds that followed them. After checking in with the receptionist, they made their way into the building, Roman flipping his hood up as they did so. Having someone recognize him as a famous businessman was not something that they needed right now. Virgil was stressed out enough.

They reached Casey’s room, where a nurse was outside waiting for them. Her gaze was conflicted as she glanced between Virgil and Roman. Virgil came to a stop before her, his face impassive, but Roman could see the slight tremble in his hands.

“Mr. Emory? And…” she trailed off, glancing at Roman.

“It’s fine, he’s a… friend. What’s going on with Casey?” Virgil asked.

“They seem to be fine, just very confused. However… something odd happened when one of the other nurses checked their vitals right before they woke up,” the nurse explained, not quite meeting Virgil’s gaze.

“What do you mean, ‘odd?’” Roman asked.

“Moments after checking on Casey, the nurse unexpectedly passed out. We thought that maybe he was dehydrated, or that there was some other cause…” she trailed off.

“But?” Virgil prompted.

“Casey woke up at the exact same time that the nurse passed out. And the nurse still hasn’t woken up,” she finished. Roman and Virgil exchanged skeptical glances.

“Well, that certainly is strange,” Roman murmured.

“Yeah, weird. Can I see them now?” Virgil asked, a bit impatient. The nurse blinked in surprise, and nodded, opening the door for them.

A teenager-- Casey, Roman assumed-- was lying in the bed. They were incredibly pale, and a bit on the thin side as well. Their fiery auburn hair was styled in a half-shaved pixie cut, although it was rather mussed. Despite having their right arm in a sling, and an IV in the other, Casey’s green eyes blazed with determination.

“Casey! How are you feeling?” Virgil asked, rushing to their side immediately.

“I’m fine. When can I leave?” they huffed, glaring at the room around them. Casey’s gaze landed on Roman, and they cocked their head to the side. Roman resisted the urge to laugh. Despite their apparent edgy-ness, Casey seemed rather adorable.

“Who is that?” they asked. Virgil glanced back at Roman, then back at Casey.

“Uh- that’s… um,” Virgil stuttered. Roman sighed, and lowered his hood, his heart clenching as he saw the mild panic that crossed Casey’s face.

“Please don’t freak out. I realize I may not entirely be the person you want to see right now, but what happened at MCHS was not my fault,” Roman said, placing what he meant to be a reassuring hand on Casey’s knee. However, Casey flinched, and at that same moment, Roman felt a wave of dizziness overtake him. Roman gave a sharp intake of breath and took his hand off of Casey to instead hold his head.

“Roman? See, this is why I didn’t want you to come along. Patton may have healed you, but you did get stabbed. That’s gotta take a lot out of you,” Virgil scolded, gently grabbing Roman’s arm and holding him steady.

“Aw, you do care,” Roman teased half-heartedly, bringing his hand down from his head. Virgil blushed brightly and stared down at his feet.

“You know, you could have just told me you were dating Roman Chevalier. You didn’t have to bring him along,” Casey said, smirking. If possible, Virgil flushed a deeper red, and Roman was fairly certain a blush was dusting his cheeks now as well.

“At least I know you’re doing okay, since you’re sarcastic as ever,” Virgil huffed. Casey let out a light chuckle.

“Trust me, it’s gonna take a lot more than a failed energy presentation to get me to stop being sarcastic,” Casey replied, although their sassy demeanor seemed slightly dulled. Roman frowned at the teenager’s words. Energy presentation?

“Are you gonna be okay if I go and get this idiot taken care of?” Virgil asked before Roman could ask Casey about the energy presentation.

“Yeah, yeah, go make out with your boyfriend,” Casey teased, a mischievous glint in their eye. Virgil pressed his lips together in a firm line, raising an eyebrow. Casey sighed and rolled their eyes.

“I’m kidding. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’m betting you’ve got a lot more than just me you need to be stressed out about,” Casey said, their voice taking on a more serious tone. Roman blinked in surprise. Considering all the teenager had been through, they seemed relatively okay. Suspicious, and definitely a little confused, but okay.

“You’re not wrong when you say that there’s a lot more I’m stressing out about. But long story short, I’m helping Roman take down the man who staged the accident,” Virgil explained.

“Then what are you waiting around here for?! Go kick that loser’s butt!” Casey exclaimed. Virgil huffed out a laugh.

“Will do,” he replied, giving a slight smirk. The two of them walked out of Casey’s room, and Roman felt his heart flutter and his cheeks flame slightly when he saw the smirk on Virgil’s face. That smirk quickly turned to a look of concern when he saw Roman’s face.

“Looks like Patton’s healing magic isn’t as strong as we thought, you look like you’ve got a fever,” Virgil said, and the way his voice was laced with concern only made Roman’s heart beat faster. Virgil gently guided him out of the hospital, putting the back of his hand to Roman’s forehead.

“Virgil, I don’t have a fever. I did have a random bout of lightheadedness when I was talking to Casey, but I’m fine now,” Roman said, taking Virgil’s hand and moving it away from his face. Roman began to walk down the sidewalk outside the hospital, Virgil quickly catching up to walk beside him.

“Doesn’t explain why you look a bit like a tomato,” Virgil huffed. Just as Virgil uttered the words, a look of realization came over his face, and he halted in his steps.

“Wait… were you- are you- blushing?” Virgil stammered. Roman froze and slowly turned to face Virgil.

“Perhaps…” Roman trailed off.

“Why?” Virgil scoffed. His deep brown eyes cast a disbelieving glare at Roman, but all the same, Roman found himself lost in Virgil’s eyes.

“You,” he gasped. Virgil’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“What?” Virgil asked in surprise.

“Your smirk, your determination, your dark and stormy attitude, it’s all you. Despite everything, I find myself caring very deeply for you, Virgil,” Roman confessed. Virgil took a step back from Roman.

“I can’t let you do that,” Virgil replied, voice low.

“What? Care about you? Why not?” Roman questioned.

“I’m cursed, Roman. ‘ _A great power, a great fear; to each firstborn of a generation be given. The cursed will live a life most drear; from the cursed, all friends will be driven._ ’ That was the curse that was placed on my family. And it’s hurt everyone I’ve ever cared about. My father died, my mother basically abandoned me, both of Casey’s mothers died, Casey ended up in a hospital, Patton got kidnapped, and you’ve already gotten stabbed!” Virgil exclaimed. Roman’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Wait… you- you care about me?” Roman stuttered. This time, it was Virgil’s turn to blush.

“I... um… maybe- yes? But it doesn’t matter how I feel, it’s too risky,” Virgil snapped.

“But I’m fine now! I will face any danger if it means you are with me. Virgil, you are worth the risk,” Roman declared, stepping closer and reaching out to caress Virgil’s cheek.

“Roman, you’ll get hurt, or die, or worse!” Virgil exclaimed, hand clasping around Roman’s and wrenching it away from his face.

“Not with you as my hero,” Roman murmured. Virgil’s eyes flew wide, his hand still gripping Roman’s tightly.

“I- but I’m not- oh, fuck it,” Virgil huffed.

Suddenly, Virgil flung himself at Roman, and a pair of lips met his. Roman’s eyes widened, and he made a startled “mmph!” sound beneath the kiss, but his eyes fluttered shut and he pulled Virgil closer to him, arms wrapped protectively around the other man. Virgil’s fingers tangled in Roman’s long hair, and Roman heard thunder rumble in the distance, but he couldn’t care less about getting rained on right now, because Virgil was kissing him like he was dying.

By the time they finally pulled apart, it was pouring rain and they were both drenched. But Roman didn’t care. Virgil was staring up at him, face flushed and eyes flickering with a slight violet hue. His gaze was dazed and lovestruck for a moment, but a mild look of panic came over Virgil’s face, and he pushed Roman away from him.

“Virgil, wait!” Roman exclaimed. He tried to reach out to him, but Virgil evaded Roman, the storm growing stronger around them.

“No. I shouldn’t have done that. You call me a hero, but I’m just a monster,” Virgil replied, his voice shaking slightly.

“Virgil, that’s not true!” Roman protested. Virgil just shook his head, and with one last forlorn look, he took off, letting the winds carry him away.

“Virgil!” Roman screamed over the storm. But Virgil didn’t hear him or chose not to hear him. He continued to fly, leaving Roman to stand on the sidewalk, alone, with a broken heart.

Suddenly, something grabbed Roman from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. Roman gave out a yelp of surprise and struggled against the strong grip, stiffening slightly when he felt something jab into his neck.

“Isn’t it a shame when these love stories don’t work out?” a cold voice purred in his ear. And with that, Roman’s world went dark.


	16. Suit Up

Despite his first impressions of Remy, the man was quite brilliant. Logan briefly wondered if he had judged the exuberant inhuman too harshly. But then again, the man had spent far too much time internally debating on shades of blue for Logan’s suit, and the urge to mentally smack Remy upside the head was becoming quite strong.

“Mr. Raines, for the last time, it does not matter if the suit is navy blue or cobalt blue. What matters is if it will be able to protect me while we confront Deceit,” Logan sighed.

“M’kay gurl, two things. One: the name is Remy. No need to be so formal. Two: I am not having you look like a train wreck while saving the day,” Remy replied, looking up from his design specs for a few moments.

“Well, if you want my opinion, I think both colors look great!” Patton chriped. Logan glanced over and saw Patton leaning on the lab table, resting his head in his hands. A childlike wonder shone in Patton’s eyes as he looked at the design specs. Against his will, Logan felt his cheeks heat up slightly. He couldn’t allow himself to feel this way. He knew that Patton was unsure of his own feelings ... but he was just too adorable.

“Aw, thanks! But the issue is, which color would look better on Logan?” Remy asked, grinning impishly. Logan groaned and rolled his eyes.

“If anything, the cobalt blue would look better. It matches the glow my eyes take on when I use my telekinesis,” Logan snapped.

“Ooh gurl, we’re feeling feisty, aren’t we? Good choice, though,” Remy replied, fiddling with the design specs for a few moments more, then stepping away so Logan and Patton could take a look. And as much as he hated to admit it, Logan was impressed with what Remy had designed.

The suit was sleek and black, with black boots, gloves, and a cobalt blue visor. There were iridescent blue lines all along the suit, converging into some sort of geometric shape on the chest. It took Logan a moment to realize that the shape greatly resembled a brain. It was subtle, and Logan appreciated that fact. Logan also noticed that on the right wrist of the suit, there was a place for the Phaser to go.

“Remy… I’m quite impressed. When will it be ready?” Logan asked.

“Well, right now! Take off your glasses, and step over there for me, would you?” Remy ordered, gesturing over to an open area in his lab. Remy tapped away at his computer for a moment, then looked over at Logan with a frown.

“Uh… why aren’t you moving? We don’t have all day!” Remy exclaimed. Logan was extremely puzzled but did as Remy asked, taking off his glasses and setting them down on the lab table. He walked over to the area that Remy had directed him to, folding his arms over his chest.

“Remy, whatever it is you’re playing at- ah!” Logan’s sentence cut off with a shout of surprise as three spheres suddenly popped up from the floor. Each sphere had a robotic eye in its center, and each eye had a different color. One sphere had an orange eye, the other had a purple eye, and the last one seemed to be a blue and pink gradient eye.

“Logan, these are my SphereBots: Thomas, Talyn, and Joan. They use nanotech to build super suits,” Remy explained. Each of the bots blinked in turn as Remy introduced them. First the purple one, then the blue and pink one, and then the orange one.

“You named your robots?” Logan scoffed. He felt a flash of irritation from Remy, but the man stuffed it down quickly and instead pushed a button on his computer.

A strange sort of light shone from each sphere, and it seemed both tangible and intangible at the same time. Logan could feel the lights’ presence on his skin, but couldn’t touch it. Logan watched in awe as the lights moved over his body, the suit from the design specs seemingly materializing itself onto Logan.

“How?” Logan gasped, watching as his hand became fully gloved before his eyes.

“Nanotech, Logan. Basically, super tiny robots that build things at a really fast rate. Just give them the design specs and bingo-presto! You’ve got yourself a super suit,” Remy explained smugly.

In a matter of moments, Logan was fully suited up. He looked down at himself, frowning when the blue details of the suit weren’t as vibrant as the design specs had made them seem. While that wasn’t important, since the suit’s functionality came first, Logan was still somewhat disappointed.

“Now, this suit is more than just hella fabulous. Your visor has systems quite similar to the ones in Roman’s suit, with things like night vision, infrared scanning, information viewscreens, et cetera. The suit is shock absorbent and incredibly strong despite its light weight and flexibility. It also does something pretty neat when you use your telekinesis. Go on, give it a try!” Remy encouraged. Logan raised an eyebrow, and then willed himself to lift a few feet into the air.

The lines on the suit began to shimmer to life and glow as Logan used his telekinesis. The tools in Remy’s lab began to float upwards, and even the SphereBots began to move under Logan’s control.

“Gurl, you better not make a mess of my lab! Now, activate the Phaser!” Remy exclaimed, clapping his hands like an overeager, hyperactive child. 

Logan did as Remy asked, and like many times before, his body became translucent once he activated the Phaser. However, there was one slight difference. Logan’s body now took on a slight blue hue, the designs on his suit still glowing and pulsing slightly.

“Oh, spooky! You look like a ghost!” Patton exclaimed.

“Or a Specter,” Remy said thoughtfully, an impish grin creeping up his lips. Logan slowly lowered himself and the objects to the ground, deactivating the Phaser as he did so.

“Specter, hm? I do believe I like the sound of that,” Logan replied, once he had landed. He carefully removed his visor, then walked over to the lab table to put his glasses back on.

“Now it’s your turn, Patton! Get on over there, glasses off and wings out!” Remy ordered in a sing-song voice, basically pushing Patton over to the area where the SphereBots were waiting. Logan felt a flash of anger and protectiveness. Patton had been through a lot, he shouldn’t be manhandled in such a way! But all seemed to be well since Patton cracked a joke about “blindly following” Remy, and summoned his wings with a cheery grin and a flash of light.

The SphereBots hovered around Patton, their strange light dancing across his form as the suit slowly took form. The suit was a sky blue, swirling gray patterns speckled over it. There were matching gray boots and gloves. There was a large opening in the back for Patton’s wings, and the Aves Amulet nestled perfectly in an indented part on the chest. The final touch was a set of high tech aviator goggles the same sky blue as the rest of the suit, with gray details on it.

“Wow, this looks amazing! Thank you so much, Remy!” Patton squealed. With a mighty flap of his wings, he flew over to Remy and pulled him into a big hug. Logan felt a pang of jealousy, illogical as it was. Patton was a friend, and although a part of Logan wanted their relationship to be something more than that, Patton did not seem to, and Logan desperately wanted to respect that. However, his emotions seemed to have a mind of their own.

“M’kay, so the design specs for Virgil’s suit are done, and Roman still needs to finish fixing his suit. Where are those two star-crossed lovers?” Remy huffed.

Just then, Virgil came barreling down the stairs, completely drenched and eyes glowing purple. He seemed mildly panicked, and Logan was concerned for a moment, but then he peered into Virgil’s thoughts. It was a confusing mess of emotions, but one memory was clear in Virgil’s head. He had kissed Roman.

“Virgil?! What happened? Is Casey okay? Where’s Roman?” Patton blurted, pushing his goggles up onto his forehead and rushing over to Virgil.

“I- uh… it’s a long story. Casey’s fine, Roman’s fine… I just sorta left him standing on the sidewalk in the rain,” Virgil muttered.

“Oh? Please tell me you had a stereotypical rainy makeout,” Remy teased. Virgil flushed bright red.

“No! It’s none of your business! Anyway, I shouldn’t have left him standing in the rain, I’m gonna go back and get him,” Virgil huffed, beginning to walk out of Remy’s lab. However, his phone rang and halted him in his steps. He pulled out his phone, and a sheepish look overcame his face. He answered the call, putting his phone up to his ear.

“Hey Roman, sorry for being a total asshole and leaving you on the sidewalk. I panicked and-” Virgil’s voice cut off with a choked gasp. His fists clenched, and Logan heard a large boom of thunder.

“What have you done to him, you slimy son of a bitch?!” Virgil snarled. Patton and Logan exchanged alarmed looks.

“Enough games, Deceit. Where’s Roman?” Virgil growled. He listened for a moment more, then put his phone on speaker.

“They can hear you now, spill it,” Virgil demanded.

“My, my, aren’t we feeling temperamental today! Now, you three, along with Roman, have been so much more trouble than you’re worth. I believe it’s about time we end this. How about the top of Chevalier Laboratories, at midnight?” Deceit purred. Logan glanced at the clock on Remy’s computer screen. It was about seven hours from Deceit’s proposed time.

“Yeah? Or what?” Virgil huffed.

“Or your precious knight dies,” Deceit threatened.

“Fine. Midnight, at Chevalier Labs,” Virgil agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

“I look forward to it,” Deceit replied, laughing coldly before the call ended with a click. A silence settled over Remy’s lab, and even the SphereBots seemed disheartened.

“This is my fault,” Virgil gasped numbly.

“Virgil…” Patton trailed off.

“No, this is my fault. I just flew away from him, because I’m too much of a fucking coward to face my own feelings. Now Roman’s been taken, and I just agreed to a plan that will get us all killed,” Virgil snapped.

“Virgil, you couldn’t have known that Roman was going to get abducted,” Logan soothed.

“And we’re going to save him, and stop Deceit!” Patton added.

“But-”

“No, no buts! You’re gonna rescue my idiot friend, and you’re gonna look fabulous doing it. Now, get your booty over here so you can suit up!” Remy interrupted. Virgil opened his mouth to protest but was quickly pulled over to the SphereBots by an over-enthusiastic Remy. Virgil sent a concerned glance at Logan when the SphereBots hovered around him.

_ “It’s going to be okay. Just play along with Remy’s antics, it will be worth it,”  _ Logan thought to Virgil, and the man let out a sigh in response.

“Alright, suit me up, I guess,” Virgil said, and Remy clapped his hands together excitedly. Remy walked over to his computer and pressed a few buttons. 

The SphereBots cast their lights on Virgil, and the suit began to slowly materialize. It was all black, with a hood and cape. The inner material of the cape was purple, while the outer material was black. The suit had fingerless black gloves, purple boots, and a jagged purple lightning bolt across the chest.

“This is… wow,” Virgil said, lowering his hood and observing his suit in awe.

“Now all you need is a sweet codename! Logan is Specter, and I’m assuming Patton will want to take on his mom’s codename, Aves, but what to do with you?” Remy asked, brow furrowing in thought. A small, fond grin came over Virgil’s face.

“Thunderclap,” he replied. 

“Well, I guess that works. But I wanted to come up with your codename!” Remy whined. Virgil huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Snooze you lose, I guess. My aunt just had you beat at the codename game, I guess,” Virgil said, his voice growing soft. Logan peered into Virgil’s thoughts for a moment, seeing a boy scared of a thunderstorm, and a woman comforting the terrified child. Then that same child being taught about thunderstorms, and growing to love them, causing the woman to dub him her “little Thunderclap.”

“It fits you perfectly, Virgil,” Logan said softly.

“Thanks, Logan. Now, we can’t just stroll up to Chevalier Labs unprepared. Time to make a plan,” Virgil said, and although Logan could sense his fear and worry, Virgil had never been more determined.


	17. Eye of the Storm

Six hours until midnight. Six hours until they were supposed to be at Chevalier Laboratories. Six hours until they had to face Deceit. Six hours until they either saved Roman, as well as Meteor City, or they met their deaths.

It was both too much time and not enough. Sure, they had their super suits and their codenames, but other than that, they were totally unprepared. Virgil was fairly certain that they were going to die, or at least get severely injured. There was no way they were walking away from it unscathed.

“Virgil,” Logan said, breaking him from his thoughts. Virgil flushed slightly.

“Sorry, are my thoughts too loud?” he asked sheepishly.

“Just a bit. It is perfectly natural to be scared, but I’m fairly confident in our abilities. After all, we did save Patton,” Logan pointed out.

“Yeah, but you and I both got severely affected by that weird smoke-gas stuff, and Roman got stabbed. What makes you think this is going to go better?” Virgil huffed, nervously fiddling with his cape.

“We know how Deceit works, we’ll be able to anticipate his attacks better,” Logan replied.

“Yeah! And besides, I have healing powers, I can always patch you guys up if you get hurt!” Patton chimed in.

“Well, I guess… but what about Roman’s suit? It’s still broken, and I have a feeling we’re going to have to fight our way out, and I don’t like the idea of Roman being defenseless,” Virgil pondered. A silence settled over Remy’s lab for a few moments.

“What if we try reactivating his AI system? I’m sure that it will know what to do,” Logan said.

“It’s worth a shot. Remy, you think you can do that?” Virgil asked.

“Does Starbucks have amazing iced coffee?” Remy asked. Virgil glared at him. Remy sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Right. Well, the answer is yes, I can reactivate his AI system,” Remy grumbled.

He walked over to where Roman’s semi-dismantled suit stood and fiddled with some of the components for a moment or two. After nothing happened, Remy let out a frustrated groan and slammed his fist into the chest plate. The suit suddenly flickered to life, and a disembodied voice began speaking.

“Zoinks! That was discombobulating!” the voice said. Patton let out an awed gasp.

“That’s so cool! Roman’s suit can talk!” he squealed.

“Sufferin’ succotash, I’m not the suit! I’m D3-P1C4N1, codename: Picani!” he said, a bit indignantly.

“Oh, well hi there, Picani! I’m Patton!” he replied cheerily.

“Yes, yes, now that we’re all introduced, let’s focus on the matter on hand. Picani, Roman’s suit was badly damaged when he got stabbed, and we need to repair it,” Logan said sharply, speaking before the AI could reply to Patton.

“Leapin’ lizards, why didn’t you just say so? Roman’s suit has self-repairing capabilities, but it may take a few hours to do so,” Picani explained.

“We have about six hours until we need to go rescue Roman, will it be done by then?” Virgil asked.

“You bet it will! Would you like me to put the suit in compact mode once it’s done?” Picani asked.

“Yes, that would be preferable,” Logan replied.

“I’m on it, boss!” Picani exclaimed.

* * *

There were now three hours until midnight. Picani had just finished the self-repairing process, and Roman’s suit stood before them, good as new. The sword was sheathed at the side, and the shield was on its back.

“Ready to go compact mode!” Picani exclaimed. A whirring sound was heard, and the suit seemed to fold in on itself until it began to resemble a backpack of sorts. The shield was the front of the backpack, while the suit was compacted inside of it.

“Well, that’s convenient,” Virgil commented.

“I’ll wear it when we go to Chevalier Labs, since both you and Patton are unable to wear a backpack due to your cape and Patton’s wings,” Logan said.

“Sounds good to me! Now, what is our game plan for when we get to Chevalier Labs?” Patton asked. Virgil’s brow furrowed in thought.

“We don’t really know what we’re walking into, but Deceit definitely wants some sort of confrontation. I say we put a stop to whatever Deceit is planning and get Roman,” Virgil answered.

“When it comes to Deceit, we need to expect the unexpected,” Logan added.

“Exactly,” Virgil replied.

* * *

A few hours later, Virgil, Patton, and Logan were flying above Meteor City. The city was oddly quiet, considering it was a Saturday night-- although, technically speaking, it was early Sunday morning.  In any case, the strange silence of the usually bustling city put Virgil at unease. It was almost as if all of Meteor City was holding its breath, waiting for the outcome of their showdown with Deceit.

_“The city’s silence is unnerving, but let’s keep focused on the task ahead, Virgil,”_ Logan thought to him. Virgil glanced over at Logan, whose expression was unreadable due to the visor he wore.

_“Right, sorry Logan. Patton, how are you doing?”_ Virgil thought. He looked over to his other side, where Patton was flying with powerful strokes of his wings.

_“I’m doing great, kiddo! We’ve got this!”_ Patton thought enthusiastically. Virgil gave a small smile, distantly wondering how Patton managed to be so positive, considering everything that had happened. Virgil wished he could be like Patton, or even Logan, with his cool confidence.

_“We’re here,”_ Logan thought, breaking Virgil away from his train of thought. The Chevalier Laboratories tower loomed before them, and Virgil took a breath to steady himself. They flew to the top of the building and landed on the roof. At first glance, it seemed like no one was there, but then Virgil saw a figure huddled on the ground, towards the edge of the roof. Virgil’s eyes widened when he recognized the figure.

“Roman!” Virgil cried out, rushing over to him without thinking. He fell to his knees beside Roman, who barely seemed to acknowledge his presence.

“Roman, it’s me, it’s Virgil,” he said, taking his hood off. Roman looked up, and Virgil felt his heartbreak at the mix of betrayal and fear in his usually fierce blue eyes.

“Oh god- Roman... this is all my fault,” Virgil gasped, and he reached out to place a hand on Roman’s cheek. But Roman grabbed his hand, tugging Virgil closer to him.

“Virgil…” Roman murmured. Their lips were just a breath apart, and Virgil’s eyes slipped shut.

“You’re absolutely right,” he said coldly. Virgil’s eyes snapped open, and he was met with a maliciously grinning Roman. His left eye flickered yellow, and Virgil immediately tried to scramble away from “Roman.” But his hand was still being gripped firmly-- almost painfully-- by the other man.

“Let go of me, Deceit. Where’s Roman?” Virgil growled. Deceit’s form shifted back to his scales and mismatched eyes, and he smirked at Virgil.

“Oh, he’s fine. But you and I need to have a chat, Virgil,” Deceit replied.

“I’m not going to ‘chat’ until I know Roman is safe,” Virgil demanded. Deceit chuckles slightly.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” he laughed. A smoky black substance billowed out from Deceit, and Virgil staggered backwards, the gas invading his lungs and causing him to choke. He desperately tried to cling to reality, to not slip into Deceit’s terrorscape.

Virgil found himself suddenly transported into a room with walls made of broken mirrors. His fractured reflections stared back at him, some of them grinning maliciously, others observing him with disgust, while some looked at him with disappointment. One of the grinning reflections stepped out of the mirror, his hands crackling with electricity.

“You’re not real,” Virgil gasped desperately, but fog began to curl around him, and he felt the familiar buzz of lightning between his fingertips. He knew he couldn’t fight the mirror-Virgil, he would end up hurting someone like he did back at Deceit’s lair.

“But you know what is real? The fact that you’re a monster. A curse. That one day, those closest to you will end up dying by your hands,” the mirror-Virgil snarled.

The room of mirrors flickered out, and Virgil found himself in the smouldering remains of a battle. Virgil let out a sharp gasp, and his stomach rolled at the sight before him. The bruised and broken bodies of his friends surrounded him, while the mirror-Virgil still stood in front of him.

Patton laid to his left, his wings horribly mangled. There was a gaping hole where his heart should be, and the gem of the Aves Amulet was shattered. His once warm hazel eyes were cold and unblinking, glasses askew on his nose.

Logan was beside Patton, their hands reaching out towards each other, fingertips barely touching. It looked as if something had bashed into Logan’s skull repeatedly, the back of his head a bloody mess. His glasses were shattered, the broken pieces lying a few inches from his head.

Casey’s body was to the right of Virgil, their form so horrifically mangled that he didn’t think he could recognize them if it weren’t for their fiery auburn hair and green eyes. The sight was so terrifying that Virgil had a hard time breaking his gaze away from Casey’s body.

“Vir-gil,” a broken voice called out. He whirled around and saw Roman lying on the ground behind him, his sword driven into his chest.

“Roman!” Virgil sobbed, scrambling to his side and cupping Roman’s face in his hands, brushing the hair out of his pain-filled eyes.

“You... could’ve s-saved me… you c-could’ve sa-ved us,” he rasped. Roman’s eyes slipped shut, and Virgil felt hot tears streaming down his cheeks. A small voice told him that this wasn’t real, but the rest of him was screaming. His friends-- his _family_ \-- was dead, and it was all _his_ **_fault._ **

With a broken scream of anguish, Virgil shot to his feet and spun around, hurling all of the lightning he could at his mirror-self. The hallucination shattered around him, and Virgil fell to his knees from exhaustion, back on the roof of Chevalier Labs. Deceit stood before him, observing Virgil with a raised eyebrow.

“Oh dear, such terrible things that lurk in your head,” Deceit scoffed. Virgil didn’t answer, tears still streaming down his cheeks as he tried to catch his breath.

“You know, I could assure that reality would never happen. All your friends would be alive, and you wouldn’t be cursed. After all, if my master could give you your power, it could take it away too,” Deceit offered. Virgil’s head shot up.

“What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded.

“I think it’s time you met the source of my power,” Deceit growled. He threw his head back, smoke curling out of his mouth and forming an amorphous shape above his head. Deep within the writing black shape, two glowing yellow slits appeared, looking almost like eyes.

“A member of the Emory clan? It must have been fifty generations ago that I gave your family its… gift,” a deep, dissonant voice rumbled. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“What… who are you?!” Virgil shouted. A grating, eerie sound filled the air, and it took Virgil a moment to realize it was the voice’s laughter.

“I’m not entirely a who, Virgil Emory. But many refer to me as Timoranimi,” it said.

“I- what?” Virgil gasped. None of this made sense, what _was_ this thing?

“I am the shiver that goes down your spine, the hyperventilating breaths you scramble to take. I am the red in humanity’s vision, the fatal blow of every fight. I am the moving shadows in the corner of your eye, what’s watching you when nothing is there. I. Am. **_Terror_ ** ,” Timoranimi’s voice declared, the sound reverberating in Virgil’s ears. His heart pounded in his chest, and Virgil struggled to catch his breath.

“Hmph. Of course my gift is wasted on someone like you,” it huffed. Virgil’s breath caught in his throat, and he glared up at the black mass floating above him. Electricity buzzed between his fingertips, winds blew fiercely around him, and fog curled at his feet.

“You cursed my family! I’ve had to watch everyone I care about suffer! Why!?” Virgil screamed. Timoranimi laughed, that same grating and sharp sound from before.

“Oh, so you do have the fire of your ancestors. I needed a messenger- no, an executioner. Someone to go before me and strike fear into the hearts of humanity, someone to serve at my side. And for a few centuries, it was wonderful. Chaos thrived, and I was strong because of it. But then, the tenth generation of the Emory clan betrayed me. They destroyed my vessel and banished me deep below ground. But not before I could give them a little parting gift. I think the words are very familiar to you, Virgil,” it said, and if Timoranimi had a face, Virgil was sure it would be grinning maliciously.

“So you’ve magically come back to seek your revenge? What more could you possibly do to me?” Virgil scoffed, but deep down he was terrified.

“Magic didn’t bring me back, Virgil, science did. Chevalier Laboratories found me on an expedition. They didn’t know what I was and intended to analyze me. But Dylan Lionel got too close, and I knew he would be the perfect vessel. The vessel that would help me reclaim what is mine. This isn’t about revenge, Virgil. This is about power,” Timoranimi cackled.

“No, I won’t let that happen!” Virgil cried out.

“Oh, but I think you will. In fact, you’re going to help me, Virgil,” it said firmly.

“Yeah, right. You’re crazy,” Virgil huffed.

“Because if you don’t help me, all those you care for will die. Your beloved knight, your winged father-figure, and your telepathic friend,” Timoranimi said, and with each mention of his friends, they appeared in a puff of smoke, each bound by the same writhing black substance that Timoranimi was made of. Virgil’s heart dropped. He was too focused on his terrorscape, then Deceit, and then the reveal of Timoranimi that he had completely forgotten about Roman, Patton, and Logan.

“No,” Virgil gasped.

“I’ll even go and hunt down your cousin, although the gift that Dylan inadvertently gave to them could have been useful to me. I’ll hunt down that rich inhuman that gave you your suit. I’ll hunt down every life you’ve touched, unless you join me, Virgil,” Timoranimi demanded. Virgil glanced at his friends. They all seemed to be conscious, but they were all staring ahead at nothing, fear embedded in their expressions. Virgil’s gaze shifted back to Timoranimi, and Deceit beneath it.

_“Logan… if you can hear me, if_ **_any_ ** _of you can hear me, please snap out of it. And… I’m sorry,”_ Virgil thought, hoping that the telepathic link between them was still active. Virgil took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He strode forward, a storm swirling around him.

“What do you need me to do?”


	18. The Tangled Web We Weave

Patton watched as Virgil ran to Roman. The group of them had just landed on the rooftop of Chevalier Labs, just like Deceit had asked. He glanced over at Logan, who stood beside him with a slight frown on his face. His expression was otherwise unreadable due to his visor, but Patton could tell that Logan felt uneasy.

“Logan- erm, Specter- what’s wrong?” Patton asked. Logan let out a light chuckle at the use of his codename, but his amusement didn’t seem to last long.

“It feels too easy. Roman, just sitting here on the rooftop, with Deceit nowhere to be seen? It isn’t right,” Logan explained. Patton frowned, adjusting his goggles. His vision zoomed in on Roman and Virgil, and everything seemed to be going well. Really well, since it appeared the two were going to kiss! Patton was going to let his goggles zoom out again, but then he caught a cold grin growing over Roman’s face.

“Logan, I don’t think that’s Roman…” Patton gasped. Roman’s form suddenly shifted, and it was Deceit that Virgil was crouched next to.

“Deceit,” Logan growled. Logan and Patton ran forward, trying to assist Virgil, but then black smoke enveloped Virgil and Deceit and quickly spread towards the two inhumans.

“Patton, we need to get out of here, now! Don’t inhale the gas!” Logan shouted, flying into the air, the details of his suit glowing a vibrant blue.

“But what about-”

“There’s no time!” Logan exclaimed, but as he did so, the gas curled upward, as if it were actively chasing Logan. He tried to evade the gas, even activate his Phaser, but the inky black substance swirled around him. Logan gagged, hands flying to his throat as he plummeted to the ground, losing his telekinetic control.

“Logan!” Patton cried out, and he lunged forward, wings flapping, in an attempt to catch Logan. The gas curled after Patton as well, the foreign substance making its way into his lungs. He coughed and sputtered, falling to the ground in a heap.

* * *

Patton groggily opened his eyes. What happened? The last thing Patton remembered was landing on top of Chevalier Laboratories, and then… he sat bolt upright, the memories coming back to him in a flash.

“Logan? Virgil? Roman?” Patton called out, scrambling to his feet. He seemed to be in a cave of some sort, and his voice echoed off the walls. Patton spun around slowly, trying to figure which way was out. There seemed to be light coming from the left, so Patton unfurled his wings and tried to fly in that direction. However, as soon as he tried to, he immediately flew into what felt like a net. The wires of the net were sticky and translucent, and Patton struggled to free himself from it.

Suddenly, as a result of his fidgeting, Patton head a scuttling sound above him. He froze, heart pounding out of his chest. It then dawned on Patton what this was. It wasn’t a net. It was a _web._

The scuttling came again, this time to the right of Patton. He jerked and thrashed in the web, desperately trying to break free. But it was no use. Patton was stuck.

“Don’t fight it… it will only make things worse,” a voice came, the sound of it light and sweet. Patton froze. He knew that voice. It had been five years since he heard that voice, but it had to be her… it had to be.

“Mavis?” he croaked, tears springing to his eyes.

“I suppose that’s my name,” she said, and her face came into view. Except for it wasn’t really her… not really, at least. Her long honey blonde hair was a tangled mess, so different from the neat and straight hair that Patton remembered. Her eyes were the same hazel shade as Patton’s, but they seemed hollow, devoid of life. Worst of all, there were wickedly sharp teeth crowded into her mouth.

“What, you don’t recognize your little ‘Mavy-Wavy?’” she taunted, hissing the nickname. Mavis suddenly darted away, moving much faster than any human could, and that’s when Patton realized the worst part about his sister wasn’t the sharp teeth. The worst part was that she seemed to be half _spider._

From the waist up, Mavis looked normal, minus her teeth. But from the waist down, she had the abdomen of a spider. Eight spindly black legs carried her along the web, and the sight of her sinuous movements made Patton feel sick to his stomach.

“M-M-Mavis? Is- is that r-really y-you?” Patton whimpered. He couldn’t stop trembling, his movements shaking the whole web. Mavis loomed above him, trapping Patton in between her spider legs.

“Of course it is, big brother!” she said with a grin, but it was false and saccharine. This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be real!

“N-no, Mavis was kind, she was sweet! You aren’t- you can’t be her!” Patton sobbed.

“Maybe I was kind, maybe I was sweet, but that’s in the past, Patton. You let me die,” she hissed. A strange _wssh-_ ing sound was heard, like water coming out of a hose, and Patton felt his legs slowly become encased in webbing.

“Please, Mavis, I didn’t want you to die! I don’t want anyone to die, I tried so hard to save you, but I couldn’t! I’m sorry!” Patton screamed hoarsely. Mavis didn’t listen, and the webbing traveled up his legs.

“Sorry doesn’t bring me back, Patton. You can’t bring anyone back, no matter how hard you try,” Mavis scoffed. The words hit Patton like a bullet to the heart. He could lose anyone, and there was no bringing them back. What if something happened to his father. To Virgil. To Roman. To-

_“Patton, this isn’t real!”_ a voice suddenly came in his head. The tears increased tenfold.

“Logan?” he whispered.

“Calling out for your friend is useless. Or… is he more than a friend? Or are you too cowardly to figure out your own feelings?” she taunted, and the webbing reached his hips.

_“Patton, whatever is happening, isn’t real. We’re on top of Chevalier Laboratories, remember? I need you to wake up, please!”_ Logan’s voice said. Patton blinked, and for a moment or two, Mavis, the web, and the cave faded away. Replacing it was the rooftop of Chevalier Laboratories, Deceit standing in front of Patton with his back to him, and Virgil standing a few feet in front of Deceit.  Roman was on his right, and Logan was to his left. They all were bound by a strange inky black substance, and the smoky black gas from earlier curled all around them.

He blinked again, and the cave was back. Patton furrowed his brow, his mouth set in a firm line.

“I may be confused by my own feelings, and I might get scared sometimes, but I’m not a coward!” Patton declared. Mavis shuddered, and the webbing stopped traveling up his abdomen.

“What?” she hissed.

“I can’t let the ghosts from my past scare me anymore. Mavis, kiddo, I’m so sorry that you died. But I need to accept that it wasn’t my fault! That there wasn’t anything I could have done,” Patton continued, and he felt the webbing slowly start to melt away.

“But what of the spiders from your present?” she scoffed, but Patton could tell she was grasping at straws.

“Well sure, spiders creep me out, but I shouldn’t let my fear bring me down like this! Not when there are more important things to worry about!” Patton replied.

“But-”

“But nothing. My friends need me,” Patton interrupted. The web completely melted away, and Patton found himself kneeling on the ground, with a human Mavis in front of him. She looked like she did the night she died: hair falling in her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, her light purple t-shirt and jeans stained with dirt. Patton reached out and pulled her into the tightest hug he could, wanting to hold her close forever. But he knew that he had to go.

“Goodbye, Mavis,” he whispered.

* * *

Patton’s eyes snapped open. He was back on the rooftop of Chevalier Laboratories. Deceit and Virgil stood in front of him, Deceit’s back to Patton. An inky black substance was spewing from Deceit’s mouth, forming a black cloud above his head. A voice seemed to be coming from the cloud, but Patton couldn’t entirely catch what it was saying.

_“Patton, are you okay?”_ Logan’s thought came. Patton glanced over, and saw Logan beside him, bound by the same inky substance that was coming from Deceit’s mouth. Even though his expression was mostly hidden by his visor, Patton could hear and somewhat feel the concern in his voice.

_“Yes, I’ll be fine. What’s happening?”_ Patton thought back.

_“Virgil made some sort of deal with Deceit… or rather, the strange being that Deceit seems to be possessed by. But before he did so, he spoke to me through our telepathic link and managed to free me from my terrorscape. Then, I was able to free you… but I can’t free Roman,”_ Logan explained. Patton turned his head, looking over to his other side to see Roman, bound by the inky substance like he and Logan were. His eyes seemed empty, an expression of fear frozen on his face.

_“What do we do?”_ Patton thought.

_“Do you think you can break free from your bonds and distract Deceit? I can phase through mine, but I need to get to Roman. If I can physically break him out of this substance, maybe that will be enough to free him from his terrorscape,”_ Logan thought.

_“It’s worth a shot. Good luck, Logan… be careful,”_ Patton replied.

_“You too,”_ Logan thought. Patton nodded and began to squirm in his bonds, testing how strong they were. They seemed somewhat fluid, but were deceptively strong. But that wouldn’t be a problem for Patton.

With a mighty shout, he tore through his bonds, and his wings splayed out, free at last. Deceit whirled around, the dark shadowy cloud above his head dissipating. Virgil’s eyes were wide with shock and relief.

“What?! But that’s impossible!” Deceit growled.

“I’m not going to let my fear control me any longer, Deceit!” Patton exclaimed.

“And you think you can stop me? All you are is a little bird who can heal others. You’re no fighter,” Deceit scoffed.

Patton let out a defiant cry, lunging at Deceit with a powerful sweep of his wings. However, Deceit saw the attack coming, and he swiftly sidestepped Patton. The winged hero tumbled to the ground, landing at Virgil’s feet. Virgil began to crouch down, seemingly intending to help Patton up, but he hesitated.

“Ah, now Virgil, you and Timoranimi had a deal, remember?” Deceit taunted. A conflicted array of emotions flickered over Virgil’s face, and lightning flashed in the sky above them.

“Wait, Timorana-what-now?” Patton asked, scrambling to his feet and standing protectively in front of Virgil.

“Timoranimi. The source of my power, living terror-”

“M’kay, I think I’m just gonna call ‘em Tim. That work for you?” Patton interrupted.

“How _dare_ you insult the great-”

“Huh buh bup! Nope. Their name is Tim now,” Patton interrupted, and Deceit’s left eye flashed a dangerous yellow.

“Are you aware of whom you’re speaking to? Do you have any idea of the power that I-” Patton cut Deceit off with more gibberish sounds. With a cry of rage, black smoke curled from Deceit’s hands, shooting at Patton and Virgil. Patton spun around, taking Virgil into his arms and shielding both of them with his wings. His amulet glowed a comforting golden hue, and its light spread out to encase both of them.

The gas swirled around them, but it couldn’t penetrate the golden light surrounding Patton and Virgil. Virgil’s eyes were wide and panicked, and Patton only hugged him tighter.

“It’s okay kiddo, I’ve got you,” Patton murmured.

“But-”

“You don’t have to do what he says, Virgil,” Patton cut him off.

“He’ll hurt you if I don’t, he’ll hurt all of you,” Virgil protested.

“He’s going to hurt everyone whether you help him or not,” Patton pointed out. Virgil remained silent, a conflicted expression over his face.

Suddenly, the gas dissipated. Patton glanced around in surprise, not quite wanting to let go of Virgil yet.

“This ends now, Deceit!” a voice called out. Virgil gasped, as he recognized the voice, and broke away from Patton. The golden glow from his amulet faded, and Patton turned around to see the source of the voice.

“Roman!” Virgil shouted.


	19. Knight In Distress

Cold, bitter wind whipped at Roman. Snow swirled around him, obscuring his vision and making his world a harsh white. Where was he? How did he even get here? The last thing he remembered was…

“Virgil!” Roman shouted. He had been with Virgil, outside of Meteor City Hospital. But what had happened between then and where he was now? Why couldn’t he remember?

He saw a shadowy figure ahead of him. Roman could barely see them, with all of the snow, but there was definitely someone there. He struggled forward, the wind threatening to push him back. He tugged his hoodie tighter around himself, trying to fight off the cold.

“Hello?! Hey, can you help me?!” Roman shouted over the wind, trying to get the attention of the figure in front of him. 

A harsh wind suddenly blew at Roman, sending cold shooting through his bones and causing him to fall to his knees. He shivered and hugged himself tightly, trying to retain some warmth. The figure stepped forward, seemingly unaffected by the elements. Roman’s breath hitched in his throat when he recognized the figure. A dark-haired man with the same dazzling blue eyes as Roman.

“Dad?” he gasped, teeth chattering.

“What have you become, Roman? I worked so hard to build my company, and you throw it all away,” he scoffed.

“Dad, it wasn’t my fault. Dylan- Deceit- he tricked me, he tricked everyone. It wasn’t my fault!” Roman protested. A disgusted scowl came over his father’s face.

“I would have never allowed such a thing to happen. You are weak,” Roman’s father hissed.

“I’m not weak! Dad-”

“You are no son of mine,” he interrupted. His voice was colder than the snowstorm around them, and it sent icy shards of rejection through Roman’s heart. His dad turned and began to walk away from Roman.

“Dad, wait!” he shouted, trying to scramble to his feet. Roman only succeeded in falling face first into the snow. 

Harsh, bitter laughter caused Roman’s head to shoot up. Standing in front of him was his close friend and bodyguard, Amari. The snowstorm didn’t seem to affect her either, while Roman remained shivering in the snow.

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” she taunted.

“Amari, what is happening, did you just see my dad?” Roman asked, pushing himself into a sitting position.

“Sad, delusional, rich boy. All of your arrogance and flirting… why did I even bother to pretend to be your friend?” Amari scoffed.

“But Amari… you are my friend…” Roman trailed off.

“Oh, please. Like I’d even want to be friends with someone like you. The only reason I stuck around is because I got paid to,” she spat. A gust of wind blew in front of her, and she vanished into the snow.

Roman carefully rose to his feet, turning in a slow circle. Nothing about this place made sense. The constant, bitter cold and snow, the fact that Roman seemed to be the only one affected by it, and that he had seen his father, who had been dead for months.

“Roman,” a voice called out. He let out a gasp and spun around, heart pounding. Virgil stood in front of him, the wind tousling his dark hair. Gorgeous dark brown eyes bore into Roman’s blue ones, and Roman felt himself falling for Virgil all over again.

“Virgil,” Roman gasped, reaching out for him. Virgil backed away, a disgusted look on his face. Roman swore he could feel his heart slowly tearing in two.

“Virgil, I know we left off on bad terms, but I’m willing to try and fix this,” Roman begged.

“Fix this? You can’t fix something like this, Roman. You and me? It’s never going to happen,” Virgil stated firmly.

“I know you think you’re a monster, but you aren’t, Virgil. Let me help you see yourself how I see you,” Roman said, trying to step closer to him. Virgil began to laugh, the sound driving a sharp spike of fear through Roman.

“This isn’t about me, Roman. It’s about you. Why would I want to be with someone like you?” Virgil sneered. Those words made Roman’s heart shatter, and he fell to his knees in despair. Virgil was right. Why would anyone want to deal with someone like him? He was brash, arrogant, overconfident, and just generally loud. No one wanted him around.

_ “Roman, snap out of it!”  _ a voice echoed in his thoughts. He felt hands on his shoulders, and a flickering blue figure appeared before him. They wore a black suit, with glowing blue details and a blue visor. It took Roman a moment, but he recognized the man in front of him.

“Logan, if you’re here to tell me that you don’t want me around, then I’m afraid you’re too late. I’ve already gotten the message, quite clearly,” Roman replied sadly.

_ “Don’t want you around? Roman, listen to me!  _ **_This isn’t real_ ** _ ,” _ Logan thought to him. The snowstorm snapped out of existence for a moment, and Roman found himself on top of Chevalier Labs, with Logan kneeling in front of him, and Deceit attacking Patton and Virgil. But then the storm came back, and cold settled back into Roman’s limbs.

“Logan, I don’t know what to do… I’m so cold…” Roman shivered. In the time that Logan had arrived, it seemed to have gotten even colder.

_ “Roman, you need to wake up. It isn’t real. You aren’t going to freeze to death, you are needed,”  _ Logan’s thought came, his voice filled with care and concern. Roman took a deep breath, trying to focus on Logan’s words, even as the storm grew stronger. He felt ice beginning to spread on his fingertips, and each breath burned his lungs with cold air.

_ “Roman, listen to me. Focus on my voice. You are needed, you aren’t overbearing or annoying. You’re strong, no matter what anyone else says. And I know your father would be proud of the man you’ve become,”  _ Logan soothed, and the snowstorm dulled. The rooftop of Chevalier Labs came into view, Logan’s form in front of him more solid. But Roman was still slowly freezing over.

“Logan- I can’t-t- I’m st-t-till c-cold,” Roman shivered.

_ “Yes you can. You’ve always daydreamed about being a knight in shining armor, but the truth is, there was no need for you to daydream about it because you already are. You saved me when Dylan tried to kill me, helped us rescue Patton from Deceit, and you’ve begun to save Virgil from his own demons. But all of that will be for naught if you don’t wake up. We need our Knight,”  _ Logan thought firmly.

The hallucination shattered with a shuddering gasp from Roman. He leaned heavily against Logan, trying to catch his breath. He was vaguely aware of Logan putting something on his back, but Roman was too concerned with what he saw in front of him.

Deceit stood a few feet away from Roman and Logan, smoky black gas spewing from his fingertips. The gas was trying to attack some sort of glowing shape. It took Roman a moment to realize that the “shape” was in fact, Patton and Virgil.

Roman scrambled to his feet, his fists tightening in anger. He then realized that the thing Logan had put on his back was his suit in compact mode. A confident smirk spread across his face.

“Whoa, easy Roman. Are you sure that you’re alright?” Logan asked, standing up as well.

“I will be once we stop Deceit,” Roman replied. He reached back, pushing a button on the suit’s compact mode. The suit built itself around Roman, the mask being the last thing to take form.

“Roman! Good to talk to you again, buddy!” Picani’s voice came.

“It’s good to be back, Picani,” Roman said, drawing his sword. Roman took a bold step forward, readying an electric pulse blast. He fired it at Deceit, sending the snake man sprawling forward, the gas dissipating almost instantly.

“This ends now, Deceit!” Roman cried out. Deceit was back on his feet in an instant, turning around and glaring at Roman.

“Roman!” Virgil shouted, his eyes wide and hands trembling slightly. Thunder boomed above them. 

Roman’s gaze focused in on Virgil for a moment. There was so much he wanted to say to him, so much that he wanted to make up for. But he couldn’t reconcile with Virgil, not yet. There still was the threat of Deceit to deal with.

“Oh Roman, this isn’t the end. It’s only just the beginning. Now Virgil, how about a storm? After all, we do have a deal,” Deceit taunted. Roman’s breath hitched. Deal? What deal?

“Are you so sure about that, Deceit? You made that deal while you still had bargaining chips. And if you haven’t noticed, we’ve all broken free,” Logan pointed out, smirking slightly. The snake man’s face twisted into a scowl.

“There are other ways to assure Virgil’s allegiance,” he growled.

“Call me Thunderclap, asshole. And what makes you think we’re gonna let you try?” Virgil snapped. Roman smiled beneath his mask, stepping closer to Deceit. The others did the same, forming a circle around the villain.

“Oh, you have nicknames now. How wonderful,” Deceit muttered.

“Yeah, I’m Aves!” Patton chirped, grinning broadly. Deceit’s head whipped around, raising an eyebrow. A knowing smirk spread across his face, and his eyes began to glow a sickly yellow. Black smoke curled from his mouth and pooled around him.

“Ah, taking on your mother’s name, I see,” Deceit said, his voice now dissonant and dark.

“Seriously? Is there anyone’s past you’re not involved with?” Virgil growled. Deceit laughed.

“Everyone feels terror at one point or another, Thunderclap,” Deceit shrugged. Roman’s brow furrowed in confusion. What on earth happened when he was trapped in his terrorscape?

_ “Dylan is possessed by a being called Timoranimi. It supposedly is living terror,”  _ Logan explained to him through the telepathic link.

_ “Oh. Good to know,”  _ Roman thought back.

“How do you even know about Patton’s mom? Haven’t you been banished for centuries?” Virgil scoffed.

“Oh please. I may have been banished, but I still had followers. They may not have been able to free me, but they could still do my bidding,” Deceit, or rather, Timoranimi replied.

“Your bidding? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Virgil demanded. Timoranimi shook Deceit’s head and rolled his eyes.

“Bidding: the ordering or requesting of someone to do something. Honestly Thunderclap, it’s quite a simple definition,” it scoffed.

“You know that’s not what I meant, you snake,” Virgil growled.

“Oh fine, if you must know, I had my followers keep tabs on certain things. One of those things being the Aves Amulet. A powerful little trinket, really. And for years it laid dormant. That is, until the amulet claimed Halcyone Hartford as its user. When my followers discovered this, I knew what had to be done,” Deceit-Timoranimi explained darkly. Patton let out a shallow gasp.

“What?” he asked, voice shaking.

“Yes, but then after she was taken care of, her husband held on to the amulet. So I sent some of my followers to retrieve it. However, the amulet had other plans,” it huffed, shooting a withering glare at Patton. Silence settled over them as they all let what Deceit-Timoranimi said sink in.

“You killed them… Mom… Mavis… you killed both of them! You monster!” Patton screamed, tears streaming down his face. 

“Well, to be fair, I wasn’t the one that pulled the trigger,” Deceit-Timoranimi replied, shrugging. Patton’s brows furrowed, and he began to glow, the amulet’s light harsh and angry. Roman exchanged glances with Logan and Virgil and began to slowly back away.

“Oh, so the little bird wants to fight now?” it chuckled. Patton let out an anguished scream, launching himself at Deceit-Timoranimi. Then all hell broke loose.


	20. Endgame

Logan had never felt such raw emotion from a person before. Anger, sorrow, fear, and determination whipped through Patton in a torrent as he attacked Deceit-Timoranimi. They clashed in a devastating contrast of shadow and light, the sight both frightening and awe-inspiring.

_“What do we do?”_ Roman asked through their link. Logan glanced over at Roman, then Virgil.

_“I dunno, I think Patton’s kind of got it covered,”_ Virgil replied. Indeed, Patton seemed to be holding his own against the snake-faced shapeshifter. Each time he tried to send the inky black gas at Patton, the winged hero sent a beam of light from his amulet to counteract it. But Logan knew it wouldn’t be enough. This being-- Timoranimi-- was far more powerful than it seemed, and they all knew it.

_“I’m not sure if Patton’s efforts will be enough. Perhaps if we managed to separate Deceit from Timoranimi, we can put an end to this,”_ Logan thought.

_“It’s a good idea, but even if we could separate them, we’d need something to contain Timoranimi, or it would just possess someone else,”_ Virgil pointed out.

_“I might have- LOGAN, LOOK OUT!”_ Roman warned through the link. Logan snapped back to attention, just in time to see a mass of inky blackness flying at him. He barely activated his Phaser in time, the darkness simply passing through him.

“Having a little mental chat without me, Logan?” Deceit-Timoranimi hissed.

“Call me Specter, since everyone else seems to want to play the codename game,” Logan said with a smirk. He deactivated the Phaser and rose a few feet off of the ground, the details and visor of his suit glowing a vibrant blue.

_“Now Roman, before you were interrupted, what were you going to say?”_ Logan asked, keeping his gaze focused on Deceit-Timoranimi. Patton and Virgil did the same, both of them hovering in midair on either side of the shapeshifter.

_“I might have something that could contain Timoranimi. It’s a sphere designed to hold materials that are highly radioactive and volatile. The only problem is, it’s down in my lab, and we don’t even have a way to separate Deceit from Timoranimi,”_ Roman answered.

_“Leave that to me. Just get the sphere,”_ Logan ordered. Roman gave a sharp nod, and he activated his rocket boots, flying off the edge of the building and down to the ground below.

“Leaving so soon, my dear Knight? But the fun has only just begun,” Deceit-Timoranimi growled.

Before their eyes, the man began to shift into someone-- no, _something--_ else. His form grew larger, and his yellow-green scales shifted to cover his whole body, not just the half of his face. Jagged teeth grew in his mouth, and his face became more snout-like. Black, leathery wings sprouted from his back, and claws sharpened from his fingertips. Soon, a dragon stood before them.

“Thunderclap, Aves, don’t let him leave the rooftop!” Logan shouted.

“No problem,” Virgil growled. His eyes began to glow a vibrant purple, and Virgil lifted his hands towards the sky, clouds darkening it and thunder booming. Lightning cascaded down to Virgil, dancing between his fingertips and writhing along his form. With a defiant cry, Virgil hurled the lightning at the dragon. Deceit-Timoranimi stumbled to the side, stunned for a moment, but then he swiveled a glare towards Virgil.

“Backing out on me already? You really don’t care about those close to you, do you?” Deceit-Timoranimi growled. He gave a flap of his powerful wings and leapt up at Virgil, claws outstretched. Virgil tried to evade the attack, but then the dragon’s claws caught on his cape.

“No!” Patton cried out, attempting to dive for Virgil, but then got batted aside by Deceit-Timoranimi’s tail. Patton tumbled in midair for a moment but quickly regained his balance with powerful strokes of his wings.

“My my, look what I’ve caught!” Deceit-Timoranimi cackled, dangling Virgil from his cape. The dragon grinned, bringing Virgil up to his face. Logan’s stomach dropped when he saw that Deceit-Timoranimi’s teeth were about half Virgil’s size, and could easily tear through him.

“Ugh. The cape was a nice aesthetic, but this is inconvenient. And would you mind not opening your mouth again? You have terrible dragon-breath,” Virgil grumbled.

“Oh, you haven’t even gotten the worst of my dragon-breath,” he snarled, mouth opening wide. An orange-red glow began to shine from Deceit-Timoranimi’s throat, and Logan let out a sharp gasp. Virgil, however, grinned and summoned lightning to his fingertips, sending it all into the dragon’s mouth.

The combination of fire and lightning created a powerful explosion, causing Deceit-Timoranimi roar in pain and fling Virgil away from him. Virgil was thrown off the edge of the building, and with barely even thinking about it, Logan reached out with his telekinesis and caught him. Virgil floated in the air, eyes wide.

“Whoa, I’ve flown before, but this is weird. Thanks for the save- LOGAN!” Virgil cried out, and seconds later, Logan was thrown to the side. He lost his grip on his telekinesis and painfully crashed to the rooftop. Logan gritted his teeth in pain, trying to get up. Warnings flashed across his visor’s screen, telling him that his arm was broken ( _again_ ) and that he had several other injuries. But that wasn’t important right now. He had lost his grip on Virgil. Logan had to try and catch him again… if it wasn’t too late.

“Hey, it looks like Virgil fell for me!” a joyous voice rang out, followed by a groan of annoyance that sounded suspiciously like Virgil. Logan glanced up, and let out a slightly hysterical laugh of relief. Roman was flying in the air, holding Virgil in his arms, along with a white sphere.

“Impeccable timing, Knight,” Logan said, giving a relieved smile.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Logan, and his smile melted away, a slack-jawed look of horror replacing it. He broke his gaze away from Roman and Virgil to see that Deceit-Timoranimi was grinning down at him, black smoke curling from his jaws. Logan tried to scramble away, but his injuries screamed in protest, causing a pained gasp to escape the telepath’s lips.

“Looks like Specter will become a real ghost- argh!” the dragon’s taunt was cut off with a pained growl.

“Leave him alone!” Patton cried out. He hovered above Deceit-Timoranimi, a golden aura of light surrounding him. The dragon shrunk back and hissed at Patton’s light. He tried to bat Patton aside with his tail again, but the winged hero was ready this time. He caught Deceit-Timoranimi’s tail and used his incredible strength to throw him off the building.

After the dragon was taken care of, Patton immediately flew to Logan’s side. Roman and Virgil joined him, the three of them observing Logan with varying levels of concern. Patton looked like he was on the verge of tears, Virgil looked hollow and shell-shocked, and while Logan couldn’t see Roman’s face because of his helmet, he could sense the fear coming off of him in waves.

“Patton, there’s-s no time. We need to- need to separate Deceit and Timoranimi before- gah!” Logan gasped out when he felt Patton’s magic healing reach out to him. Patton’s lips pressed together in a firm line.

“We can’t separate them when you’re hurt! How are you going to be able to fight like this?!” Patton protested.

“With my mind, Patton. If I can get into Deceit’s head, maybe I can force Timoranimi out. I need you three to keep him occupied while I do so. And Roman, as soon as I separate them, you need to get Timoranimi contained,” Logan explained. Roman nodded solemnly, and Virgil made a sound of agreement. Patton, however, remained silent for a moment.

“Are you sure you can do this?” Patton asked softly. Logan sensed a deep, soft, warm feeling coming from Patton, something that Logan couldn’t entirely name. It made butterflies awaken and flutter inside him, and Logan quickly shoved them down. Patton thought of him only as a friend… right?

“I have to do this, Patton. The fate of this city- no- the fate of the whole world depends on it,” Logan replied firmly. Soft hazel eyes gazed at Logan from behind aviator goggles, and Patton nodded reluctantly.

“I guess you’re right. Just… be careful,” Patton said, reaching out and fixing an out-of-place strand of Logan’s hair. Logan hoped that the others didn’t notice how dark his face had flushed from that one action.

“Did you truly think you’d be rid of me that easily?!” a voice roared, snapping the heroes out of their soft, tender reverie. Deceit-Timoranimi was back on the rooftop, in his human form once more. Darkness and shadow curled around him, and both of his eyes glowed a sickening yellow. Roman stepped in front of Logan, setting the sphere on the ground next to him and drawing his sword.

“It’s about time you returned, I was beginning to miss you!” he declared. Logan could almost hear the smirk that was undoubtedly on Roman’s lips. Virgil and Patton moved to take defensive stances on either side of Logan, grim determination etched in their features.

“Oh, how sweet. All of you, protecting the weakest link,” Deceit-Timoranimi scoffed.

“Enough, Deceit. Or Timoranimi. Or whatever the hell you are. This ends, now,” Virgil spat, and Logan felt electricity buzz in the air.

“I’d like to see you try,” the shapeshifter snarled.

“Well, since you asked so nicely…” Patton grinned. The three heroes leapt for Deceit-Timoranimi, and in that same moment, Logan reached out with his telekinesis. Then his world went dark.

* * *

Logan found himself in a room of shadows, which frankly wasn’t much different from his previous darkness. The only light came from the blue glowing details of his suit. He briefly wondered if he had been thrown into another terrorscape, but after reaching out with his telekinesis, he realized the truth. This was Deceit’s mind.

“Dylan! Dylan Lionel!” he called out.

“Oh, so this is your game, telepath,” a gravelly voice scoffed. A black, inky substance shot out at Logan, attempting to snare him. But Logan quickly sidestepped it, whirling around and searching for the source of the voice.

“Show yourself, Timoranimi,” Logan demanded.

“You can’t defeat me, Specter,” it replied, hissing out Logan’s codename mockingly. Logan furrowed his brow in determination, focusing his telekinetic gift. His whole body glowed an eerily calm blue, and he could feel the shadows shrinking back.

“You think that can stop me? A little light show?” Timoranimi hissed.

“I’m not afraid of you, Timoranimi,” Logan growled.

“Perhaps not, but there are things you do fear,” it taunted. Logan resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“I’ve already been subjected to your terrorscape. I’m afraid of drowning and feeling cut off, useless. But those things cannot deter me any longer, I’ve faced them,” Logan scoffed, turning in a slow circle to try and locate Timoranimi.

“Perhaps… but you’ve experienced a few things since then,” its voice broke off into a hollow laugh.

The laugh shifted, sounding more human… and unmistakably familiar. Logan whirled around and saw Patton. But it wasn’t Patton… not really, at least. He was smiling, but it wasn’t its usual cheerfulness. Instead, it was cruel and saccharine.

“Fear is fluid, Logan,” Timoranimi hissed, the tone so jarring coming from Patton.

“Appearing as Patton won’t bring me down,” he said through gritted teeth, launching himself at the false Patton. He successfully tackled it to the ground, pinning its wrists above its head.

“But can you destroy the image of a man you’re so hopelessly and unwittingly pining for? A man who, mind you, is unsure of his own identity and feelings. A man who is kind and sweet, unfitting for someone as cold and logical as you,” Timoranimi spat. Logan’s grip on Timoranimi faltered as the words hit him like a truck.

Suddenly, Logan found himself shoved off of the false Patton and landed flat on his back. He groaned in pain, feeling his real-life injuries on his mental projection in Deceit’s mind.

“Told you that you have fears. You’ve just buried them so deep because you don’t want to risk getting close to anyone,” Timoranimi mocked, now taking the form of Virgil.

“Stop,” Logan gasped, struggling to his feet. Timoranimi’s form shifted again, now appearing as Roman.

“You don’t want to be seen as inferior, illogical. So you put up walls,” it continued.

“Enough,” Logan said through gritted teeth. Tears were gathering in the corners of his eyes, and his hands curled into trembling fists.

“Oh, so the robotic telepath does have feelings!” it taunted, once again appearing as Patton. Logan clenched his fists and glared at Timoranimi. Patton’s form flickered, his expression taking on one of confusion.

“What?” it gasped. Patton’s form flickered again, revealing a writhing, inky blackness.

“I’m done letting fear control me,” Logan growled, focusing his telekinetic energy once more.

“No, stop it!” it hissed, Patton’s from completely fading away, leaving only the darkness. A grim smirk came to Logan’s face, his whole body radiating with a startingly serene blue glow.

“LEAVE THIS VESSEL!” Logan bellowed, sending out a powerful mental attack. Timoranimi shrieked in pain, and Logan’s vision flickered out.

* * *

His eyes snapped open, and he was back on the rooftop of Chevalier Laboratories. Logan felt incredibly battered and weak but pushed himself into a sitting position. Patton was kneeling next to him, his golden healing aura pouring into Logan. Roman stood a few feet away from them, his faceplate flipped up. He had a protective arm around Virgil, who seemed to be injured, but was too busy focusing on something in front of them.

Deceit was kneeling on the ground, hands gripping at his hair. A writhing black mass was desperately trying to cling to him, and Logan knew in an instant that it was Timoranimi.

“Roman, get the sphere ready!” Logan commanded, rising to his feet with Patton’s assistance. Roman let go of Virgil and quickly snatched up the sphere, pushing a button on the side that caused it to open. Roman gave Logan a firm nod, and he gave a confident smirk in response. He put two fingers to his temple and gathered his telekinetic gift once more. With a mighty shout, he sent out a mental attack at Deceit and Timoranimi.

The writhing blackness was thrown off of Deceit almost immediately. Roman leapt up, capturing Timoranimi in the sphere. He pushed the button on the side, and it snapped closed around the terror-inducing being. Patton let out a cheer of victory and flew to Roman’s side.

“We did it!” he exclaimed, giving Roman a huge hug and a familial kiss on the forehead. He then flew to Virgil, giving him the same treatment, and ruffling his hair to boot. Logan smiled softly, and his gaze shifted to Deceit-- or rather, Dylan Lionel. The man was unconscious but seemed to be alright. Who knew what state his mind would be in once he woke up. Having an extremely powerful being live in your head couldn’t be good on one’s mental health.

Logan was so wrapped up in his thoughts about Dylan, that he wasn’t aware of Patton coming up next to him. He turned his head, intending to ask Roman about the security of the sphere, when suddenly he felt a pair of lips against his own. He jerked away to see a wide-eyed Patton.

“I- uh…” Logan stuttered. He felt like an idiot. He should have known that Patton was going to give him affections like he had to Roman and Virgil, but he wasn’t paying enough attention. Now he had potentially ruined a friendship, or at the very least made it more awkward.

However, when he reached out with his powers, he didn’t sense disgust or hatred. There was confusion, and a little embarrassment, but there was one emotion that overpowered both of those. It was that strange, warm and tender feeling that caused Logan’s heart to flutter.

“Do you think we could try that again?” Patton asked timidly.

“Of course, Patton,” Logan replied, reaching out and cupping Patton’s cheek. Patton leaned forward, and their lips pressed together, soft and sweet.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, Logan,” Patton gasped when they pulled apart. Logan could sense Patton’s confusion and slight anxiety, and he gave him a comforting smile.

“We don’t need to rush anything, Patton. But if you are interested in pursuing a relationship with me, I would have no objections,” Logan said.

“That sounds wonderful, Logan,” Patton answered with a blinding smile. Patton glanced over to the side for a moment and let out a giggle. Logan followed his gaze, and let out a low chuckle. Roman had his arms around Virgil, the other man’s fingers wound into his long hair as they kissed.

“Maybe we could do a double date sometime!” Patton laughed.

“Yes, that could be fun. But for now, I wouldn’t mind kissing you again,” Logan replied, a bit sheepishly. Patton grinned, and threw his arms around Logan’s neck, kissing him once more.


	21. The Meteor City Heroes

It had been a few months since what Meteor City had dubbed the “Battle of Chevalier Labs.” The city had changed quite a bit since then. Due to the accident at Meteor City High School, there were several rogue inhumans. Some of them good, some of them bad. One of those good ones, being Casey Emory.

“C’mon, please Virge?” they begged, dramatically flopping onto a lab table in Remy’s basement lair.

“No. I don’t care that you have superpowers, you’re not going out in the field. You’re not ready, and Remy needs the help here anyway,” Virgil replied firmly.

“But Remy helped me come up with the perfect codename! And he said he has some ideas for my suit!” Casey protested. Virgil glared over at Remy, who had been suspiciously quiet the whole time.

“What? The kid wouldn’t stop bugging me about it,” Remy huffed, taking a sip of his iced coffee. Virgil rolled his eyes.

“So what’s this codename?” Virgil asked, raising an eyebrow. Casey grinned and reached out to place a hand on Virgil’s shoulder. Virgil let out a sharp gasp as he felt some of his energy draining from him. Casey removed their hand from his shoulder, and lightning crackled across their fingertips.

“Copycat!” they exclaimed, grinning widely. Virgil chuckled and shook his head.

“It’s clever, I’ll give you that. But that doesn’t change my answer,” Virgil said, crossing his arms.

“Aw, come onnn!” they whined, running a hand through their fiery hair.

“Virgil, why don’t you give them a chance?” a voice said from behind him. Virgil glanced over his shoulder to see his boyfriend, Roman, who was wearing a pristine white suit with a red dress shirt, his hair pulled back into a bun.

The two of them had started dating shortly after the Battle of Chevalier Labs, and it still made Virgil’s knees weak every time those blue eyes gazed at him with pure adoration. Not that he would show it, of course.

“Because they aren’t ready, and I don’t want them getting hurt or worse,” Virgil replied, trying to glare at Roman, even as he walked closer and pulled Virgil into his arms.

“I’m sure Logan would love to train them. The rest of us could help out too,” Roman murmured, leaning closer to Virgil. He tenderly pressed his lips to Virgil’s, causing the man to all but melt in his arms.

“Hmm, you do have a fair point. Maybe I’ll consider it. Maybe,” Virgil replied once he had pulled away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Remy and Casey high-five. Roman grinned, and he leaned in once more. And Virgil was all too happy to let Roman’s lips claim his once more.

* * *

“Caramel hot chocolate for Amari! Hope your day is purr-fect!” Patton exclaimed, handing over the drink to Roman’s bodyguard. The dark-skinned woman laughed and rolled her eyes.

“Do you always make a pun when giving people their drinks?” she asked with a grin.

“I always make puns, period, Amari!” Patton giggled. Amari laughed again, shaking her head. She glanced over, and a mischievous smirk came to her lips.

“Patton, you don’t look well… good thing there’s a doctor in the house!” she teased, gesturing over to the doorway. Logan walked in, wearing his usual black dress shirt and tie.

“Amari, for the last time, I’m not that kind of doctor. And besides, wouldn’t Patton be the ‘doctor’ here, since he is the one with-”

“Logan! Secret identities, remember?” Patton whisper-shouted.

“I was going to attempt to be sappy and say something along the lines of ‘the one with a smile that could cure any disease,’ but I suppose there is that point too,” Logan shrugged, giving Patton a sheepish grin. Patton blushed and giggled, while Amari rolled her eyes.

“Doc, you’re hanging around Roman too much. I’m gonna leave so you two can be romantic dorks,” Amari teased, taking a sip of her hot chocolate as she left.

“Bye Amari!” Patton said with a cheerful wave. Patton turned his attention to Logan, whose calculating gray eyes had a soft look that was reserved only for Patton.

“So, my sun, you get off work soon, right?” Logan asked, and Patton flushed bright red at the pet name. His “sun?” Where had that come from?

“Was that not a suitable pet name? Roman insisted that giving your significant other pet names was an excellent way to display one’s affections. However, if that name was not suitable- mmph-” Logan was cut off by Patton leaning across the counter and pulling him into a kiss. Logan sighed into the kiss, eyes fluttering shut. Patton pulled away far too soon, and Logan was fairly certain that he had an uncharacteristic pout across his face, due to his boyfriend’s giggles.

“Logan, I don’t mind the pet name, you just surprised me! And since when did you take advice from Roman?” Patton teased. This time, it was Logan’s turn to blush.

“Well, I just… I don’t want to make a mess of things. I’ve never had an asexual boyfriend, or a boyfriend at all, for that matter. I don’t want to overstep and make you uncomfortable. You are my sun, after all,” Logan replied sheepishly. Patton leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips, grinning broadly.

“You’re so sweet, honey. And to answer your earlier question, I get done with my shift in about ten minutes,” Patton said.

“Wonderful. I’ll wait for you in the lounge?” Logan offered.

“Sure thing! See you soon,” Patton agreed and set off to tidy up behind the counter. Soon, the workers for the next shift came in, one of them being Virgil’s cousin, Casey.

“You got this, kiddo?” Patton asked, ruffling their hair.

“Course I do, Pat. Logan’s waiting for you, and he’s getting swarmed by cats,” Casey informed him, an amused glint to their eyes.

“Aw! I hope I can get a picture!” Patton squealed.

“Well, if not, I got a few,” they said, smirking as they showed Patton their phone. It showed a picture of Logan sitting on the couch in the Catpuccino lounge, several cats crawling all over his lap.

“Well, looks like Logan’s stuck in a paw-some situation!” Patton giggled, ruffling the teen’s hair one last time before walking out from behind the counter. By the time he had reached Logan, the cats from the picture had cleared out.

“Hello, Patton. Ready to go?” Logan asked, rising from his seat.

“Of course! Where to?” Patton asked, linking arms with the telepath.

“Well, to Remy’s of course. However, there is somewhere we need to stop first…” Logan trailed off, suddenly becoming eerily solemn.

“Yes?” Patton asked, looking up at his boyfriend with concern.

“We need to make a visit to Dylan Lionel. But if you’re uncomfortable with that, I can always drop you off at Remy’s first,” Logan explained. Patton gave him a soft smile.

“Thanks for being so concerned, honey. But I think I’ll be okay. Let’s go visit Dylan,” Patton replied, squeezing Logan’s arm comfortingly.

* * *

Logan and Patton drove to the Meteor City Mental Hospital in relative silence. Ever since being possessed by Timoranimi, Dylan had… several issues. Even though he no longer had the ability to shapeshift, half of his face was permanently scaly, and his left eye was still yellow and reptilian. More alarmingly so, the man refused to answer to his name, instead referring to himself as Deceit. To make matters worse, it seemed he could no longer tell the truth.

“Dr. Irving, Mr. Hartford, it’s good to see you,” Dylan’s psychiatrist, Dr. Graciela Rosales, greeted them as they walked in. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and warm brown eyes peered at the two of them from behind round glasses.

“Dr. Rosales, it’s wonderful to see you as well. Now, how is Dylan?” Logan asked. Her face fell, and she adjusted her white coat nervously.

“The same. Still only answers to Deceit. The lies haven’t stopped either,” she sighed, leading Patton and Logan down a hallway, to Dylan’s room.

“Dr. Irving. Mr. Hartford. I'm not surprised to see you here,” Deceit scoffed as Logan and Patton walked in after Dr. Rosales. He was sitting on his bed, staring off at the wall across from him.

“Dylan, you can just call me Patton,” he said softly.

“I am Dylan, I’m not Deceit. And I won’t call you Patton,” Deceit replied, crossing his arms. Patton frowned, exchanging concerned looks with Logan.

“Deceit, I’m Logan. Do you remember me?” Logan asked, daring to step closer and try to get Deceit to look him in the eyes.

“No. I didn’t say your name when you came in,” Deceit spat. Logan sighed and shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant,” Logan replied. The room was silent for a moment.

“You couldn’t have saved me. You couldn’t have sensed that there were two minds in my head. You don’t have telekinesis, you couldn’t have done something!” Deceit screeched, eyes snapping up and glaring at Logan. The scientist stepped backwards, hands up in a placating gesture.

“Deceit, I-” Logan was cut off by both his and Patton’s phones going off. Their eyes widened as they read the message scrolling across their phone from Remy:

_Get your super-butts downtown, cause gurl there’s a fiery boi burning up shit, sending coords, GO!!!_

“I’m terribly sorry, but we need to go,” Logan said, glancing between Dr. Rosales and Deceit.

“Go, do your thing,” Dr. Rosales replied, waving them out of the room.

“I’ll miss you, hope you come back unscathed,” Deceit snarled at them as they left. Patton sent one last concerned glance over to Deceit, and then followed after Logan. They had a job to do.

* * *

Later, after apprehending the inhuman and rescuing the people from the burning building, the four heroes, Casey, and Remy were gathered in his lab. Remy’s lab had become their headquarters after the Battle of Chevalier Labs, and a section of it had been converted into a lounge area, for after missions.

Virgil still had his suit on, the hood flipped down, and was sprawled on a couch with his head in Roman’s lap. Casey sat on the floor by Roman’s feet, and Remy was seated on an ottoman, fiddling away with something on his touchscreen. Logan and Patton were sitting on a couch across from them, Patton using his magic to heal a burn on Logan’s arm.

“So Virgil…” Casey started, and Virgil turned his head to glare at them.

“I told you I would maybe think about it. But now that you’re bugging me about it after a mission, that maybe is turning into a no,” Virgil said sternly.

“Betcha the mission would’ve gone faster if I was there,” Casey grumbled.

“What exactly are you trying to convince Virgil to let you do?” Logan asked. Casey shot to their feet, green eyes blazing with excitement.

“I’m an inhuman, and I wanna help you guys! I mean, yeah, I help you guys already by chilling here with Remy and learning how to fix your guys’ suits and stuff, but I wanna do more!” Casey exclaimed.

“Well…” Logan trailed off thoughtfully.

“No. Absolutely not. Don’t tell me that you’re actually considering this, it’s too dangerous,” Virgil said, shooting up into a sitting position.

“They’ve definitely proven their worth here, and I would be more than willing to train them,” Logan pointed out.

“Yeah, and I could teach them stuff too!” Patton joined in, Logan’s arm now healed.

“Plus their design specs for their suit are pretty sweet,” Remy piped up. He tapped something on his screen, and a holographic image of a dark green suit, with black accents appeared. It had a helmet with cat ears, retractable claws on the gloves and boots, and a robotic tail.

“Is this your way of telling me you’re a furry?” Virgil deadpanned.

“Virgil!” they sputtered, their face bright red.

“Kidding. Anyway, if I were to approve of this, you wouldn’t be going out into the field until Logan trains you and is certain that you’re ready,” Virgil said.

“Really?” Casey gasped.

“You’re gonna keep bugging me about it, so I might as well give in before you do something dumb, like try to go solo,” Virgil shrugged.

“Yes! Thanks, Virgil, I won’t let you down,” Casey beamed.

“Welcome to the team, Casey. Speaking of which, does our little club have a name?” Roman asked, putting an arm around Virgil.

“Well, people have been calling us the ‘Meteor City Heroes,’” Patton pointed out.

“Hmm… it’s a little boring, but it is straight to the point. I’ll live with it,” Remy sighed, taking a sip of his iced coffee while flicking away the hologram of Casey’s suit specs.

“Meteor City Heroes. I do believe that has a good ring to it,” Logan agreed.

“Yeah, cause you’re my hero!” Patton chirped, giving Logan a quick peck on the cheek.

“I think we’re all heroes, Patton. And you missed,” Logan murmured, pulling Patton into a soft kiss. Patton giggled when Logan pulled away and cuddled into his side.

Logan ran a gentle hand over Patton’s feathers, thinking back over the past few months. Roman, Virgil, Patton, and himself had evolved into more than a few powerful individuals who ended up entangled in the same mess. They had found hidden truths, escaped horrifying realities, and realized who they were. They were more than heroes, they were family.


End file.
